University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Ball State
Women’s basketball to face Ball State in first road trip of the season
11/16/2023 5:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball hits the road for the first time in the 2023-24 season with a matchup against Ball State.
UNI (1-1 / 0-0 MVC) at Ball State (3-0 / 0-0 MAC)
- 10 a.m. CT | Nov. 18, 2023
- Muncie, Indiana | Worthen Arena
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI women's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season with a matchup in Muncie, Indiana against the Cardinals of Ball State. This will be the second meeting between these two programs, and the first since 2013. That matchup saw a Cardinal victory by a score of 53-48, also in Muncie, Indiana. The 2013 matchup was in the second round of the 2013 WNIT which the Panthers made it to after a 61-59 victory in the first round against Marquette.
The Panthers are coming off the first sellout of the McLeod Center in program history last Sunday in a matchup against then No. 3-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes took home a 94-53 victory in that matchup. The contest saw two Panthers finish in double figures in points with Riley Wright leading UNI with a career-high 14 points and Grace Boffeli recording 11 points. On top of her 14 points, Wright also set career records with seven rebounds, four steals, and 28 minutes. In the matchup, freshmen Bri Robinson and Katy Reyerson saw their first action in a Panther uniform. Robinson recorded five points in her first collegiate start going 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Ball State Cardinals graduated their top-two scorers from a season ago, but bring back their next six point-getters from the 2022-23 season. Through three games, the Cardinals are led in scoring by junior Madelyn Bischoff. She has recorded 49 points in the last three games with a season-high 22 points against Troy on November 11.
Ball State was predicted second in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) poll for the 2023-24 season. The Cardinals are looking to start the 2023-24 season with a 4-0 mark Saturday against the Panthers for the first time since the 2017 season. That year Ball State finished the non-conference season with an 11-0 mark. The Cardinals are coming off a road win at Chicago State on Tuesday by a score of 85-56. For the third straight game, five Cardinals reached double-digit scoring with Annie Rauch (18), Ally Becki (14), Madelyn Bischoff (14), Estel Puiggros (12), and Hana Mühl (10). The Cardinals bench also played another huge part in Ball State's success with 43 points. The Ball State bench has scored 40.7 points per game this season, the highest mark in the MAC and the seventh-highest mark in the nation.
