University of Northern Iowa
Iowa
Women’s basketball welcomes in the reigning Big Ten champion Hawkeyes on Sunday
11/10/2023 6:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball sells out the McLeod Center for the first time in program history ahead of a matchup with Iowa.
UNI (1-0 / 0-0 MVC) vs. No. 3 Iowa (2-0 / 0-0 Big Ten)
- 2 p.m. CT | Nov. 12, 2023
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,500)
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The women's basketball team welcomes in the No. 3-ranked Hawkeyes of Iowa on Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes are the reigning Big Ten champions and NCAA Tournament runners-up. The matchup is the second of the Panthers' season and the first time the Panthers have matched up with a team that made the NCAA Tournament Championship since the 2009-10 season when they faced NCAA Tournament Championship runner-up Louisville after they fell to Connecticut in the championship game 76-54.
The matchup is the first sellout of the McLeod Center in program history for the women's basketball team and the first sellout since 2015 when the UNI men's basketball team packed 7,018 fans in to watch the Panthers beat the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina.
The Panthers are coming off a 78-67 victory over the Phoenix of Green Bay. In that matchup, the Panthers landed four players in double digits in points with Maya McDermott and Emerson Green recording 16 points, Grace Boffeli tallying 14, and Kayba Laube putting up 11. Boffeli posted her first double-double of the young season, adding 10 rebounds to her 14 points. The Panthers moved to 12-5 in season openers under head coach Tanya Warren.
This season, the Panthers were selected as the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) preseason favorite for the 2023-24 season. In the Tanya Warren era, the Panthers have been in the top two six times including this year's No. 1 projection. On top of that, Grace Boffeli was named the preseason Player of the Year and, along with Maya McDermott, was named to the All-MVC First Team.
Iowa is coming off an 80-76 victory over No. 8 ranked Virginia Tech on Thursday night. In that game, Caitlyn Clark led all scorers with 44 points. She added eight rebounds and six assists on 42% shooting from the floor (13-for-31). Clark needs 16 points to surpass Megan Gustafson (2,804) for Iowa's all-time scoring title and is one triple-double away from joining Sabrina Ionescu as the only DI players to record a triple-double in four different seasons.
The Hawkeyes own the series with a record of 25-3. The last UNI win came in Cedar Falls in 2019 by a score of 88-66.
