University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
5-11,4-3MVC
Illinois State
12-6,5-3MVC
Panthers fall to Illinois State in Normal
1/25/2024 8:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Grace Boffeli records 1,000th career point in a 77-88 loss at Illinois State.
NORMAL, Ill. --- UNI traveled to Illinois State for game one of a two-game, Illinois swing. The Panthers jumped out to a quick lead before the Redbirds took a commanding lead with a pair of big runs and never looked back. Northern Iowa worked to push back into the deficit in the final minutes of the matchup but fell just short of the Illinois State gap.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Maya McDermott opened the matchup, burying a pullup jump shot. Illinois State answered with their own jump shot before Grace Boffeli knocked down a three-pointer to take a 5-2 lead early. A seven-point Redbird run put Illinois State ahead with a score of 9-5 before Boffeli grabbed an offensive rebound and scored her fifth point of the game to end the run.
The Panthers and the Redbirds traded buckets with the final points coming from Illinois State heading into the first-quarter media timeout. Out of the break, the Redbirds extended their lead with a 13-point run to take a 26-9 lead. Maya McDermott ended the run with a three-pointer to close out the first quarter.
Back-and-forth baskets opened the second quarter which saw a McDermott pullup jumper. A layup and a pair of free throws from Illinois State were answered by a seven-point, Panther run including a three-pointer from Emerson Green, a pair of free throws from Bri Robinson, and a pullup from Cailyn Morgan. A layup from the Redbirds was answered by a jumper from Ryley Goebel to cut the Illinois State lead to 11 at 23-34 heading into the second quarter media timeout.
Out of halftime, the Redbirds struck first before Grace Boffeli recorded back-to-back layups to bring UNI back within nine points at 36-45. Boffeli traded two more buckets back and forth with the Redbirds heading into the third-quarter media timeout. Out of the break, Illinois State knocked down a three-pointer before a McDermott layup heading into another break.
A pair of baskets from Illinois State were followed by a seven-point run from UNI to cut the Illinois State lead to seven points. The Redbirds sank a free throw to close the third quarter with an eight-point lead at 59-51.
Emerson Green opened the fourth quarter with a hook shot before Illinois State hit back-to-back buckets to extend their lead back to 11 points. A steal from Maya McDermott led to a layup on the other side of the floor which was followed with an Illinois State, and-one layup. A tough jump shot from McDermott gave her 22 points in the contest and took both teams into a media timeout.
The Illinois State lead hovered around 10 points down the stretch with back-and-forth baskets from each squad. Free throws became paramount in the last set of possessions for each team with eight straight points off free throws combined between the two teams within the last set of minutes. The Redbirds held a nine-point lead with just under one minute remaining in the contest.
Boffeli netted all four Panther points in the final minute of the contest, but the Redbirds recorded six points from the free throw line in the same amount of time to claim the 88-77 victory. Maya McDermott led the UNI offense with 29 points. She added four rebounds and two assists to her total. Grace Boffeli also recorded a 20-point game and finished with 10 rebounds for the double-double. Emerson Green was the third Panther in double figures with 12 points.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI trails the Illinois State Redbirds 41-48 in the season series after tonight's 77-88 loss.
- Grace Boffeli became the 29th Panther to cross the 1,000-point threshold in the fourth quarter against Illinois State. She is the 11th Panther in the Tanya Warren era to claim the milestone.
- The Panthers recorded back-to-back games with a Panther crossing the 1,000-point mark for the first time in program history.
- Grace Boffeli recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 28th all-time with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
- Maya McDermott was one point shy of tying her career-high 30-point performance at Iowa State. She also remains perfect from the free throw line in MVC play going 3-for-3 from the stripe at Illinois State.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their Illinois swing with a matchup at Bradley on January 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The matchup can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
