UNI women's basketball ends Hoops in the Heartland run with semifinal loss to Belmont

Saturday, March 11

Moline, Ill.

4 PM

University of Northern Iowa

22-9,16-4MVC

Belmont University

23-10,17-3MVC

UNI

Belmont

UNI women's basketball ends Hoops in the Heartland run with semifinal loss to Belmont

3/11/2023 6:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MOLINE, Ill. -- The Panthers fought to the very end in a close 69-62 loss to the Belmont Bruins the the semifinal round of the Hoops in the Heartland Championship Tournament.

UNI gave it all they had on Saturday afternoon in the team's third battle with Belmont this season. But the Bruins still had the Panthers number despite UNI leading in rebounds, three point shooting percentage, and bench scoring. Three UNI players ended the game with double-digit nights while forward Grace Boffeli added her 14th double-double of the season.

"I thought it was a great game. I thought we were ready to play." said Head Coach Tanya Warren following the loss. "Two really good teams went back and forth. You have to tip your hat to Belmont. I thought down the stretch [Destinee] Wells made some tough shots, as she does. I'm extremely proud of this team."

While the Panthers didn't make the first basket of the game, they had the first significant run making four three pointers in a row over two minutes. The nine-point advantage held for a brief moment until Belmont made a quick run of their own, tying the game up with three and a half left in the first. UNI's three point shooting would stay hot in the final minutes of the first as the Panthers picked up two more treys to lead by two heading into the second.

UNI made their first layup of the game to start the second quarter as forward Ryley Goebel made a steal to go coast-to-coast. Belmont responded quickly but the Panthers put together a short run to get their lead up to five. Neither team could get anything to fall over the next minute but the Bruins broke the stalemate with a run to retake the lead. The teams traded the lead one more each as UNI was up by six with a little over four minutes left in the first half. The Panthers hit a cold streak to end the second, not making another bucket as Belmont led by four at half.

Point guard Maya McDermott led the charge at the beginning of the second half for UNI. The sophomore guard made the Panthers first three field goals of the half, tying the game up twice. Bruin forward Kylin McGuff and guard Emerson Green traded threes before the third media timeout to keep the game knotted at 43.Two straight UNI shooting fouls after the timeout gave the lead back to Belmont but Boffeli scored four in the final minute and a half of the third to have the Panthers down by just two.

Green hit her fourth three of the game to kick off the final quarter of the semifinal matchup, retaking the lead for the Panthers. But both teams soon began to struggle with fouls as each picked up nine over the course of the final nine minutes. Short runs soon became the name of the game as the teams each put together four-point stints until after the media timeout with four minutes left. A five-point run for Wells had the Panthers back down by three. McDermott got UNI back within one a the line with two minutes to go. But it wouldn't be enough as the Bruins closed out the game on an 11-5 run, ending the Panthers chance at its first Hoops in the Heartland Championship since 2011.

Overall, UNI was over 36% from the floor (21-57), just under 38% from behind the arc (11-29) and 60% at the line. The Panthers made 10 assists and led the game in bench points with 13. On the defensive side of the ball, UNI outrebounded Belmont by two with 35 off the glass. The Panthers also picked up six steals and three blocks.

McDermott and Green each had 15 points to lead UNI on offense while Boffeli led the team in rebounds with 13. McDermott also led the team in assists with seven while Goebel led the team in both steals (3), and blocks (2).

UP NEXT:
The Panthers are likely to earn a bid to the WNIT postseason tournament. Selections will be made on Sunday night while the full WNIT bracket will be released on Monday.