University of Northern Iowa
7-11,6-3MVC
UIC
12-8,5-4MVC
Panthers defense shuts down UIC Flames in a road matchup
1/31/2024 8:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball shut down the hottest team in the Valley in a road matchup at UIC, 65-43.
CHICAGO --- UNI women's basketball traveled to Chicago, Illinois to take on the UIC Flames in a matchup that was originally scheduled for January 12 before being postponed due to a facility issue at Credit Union 1 Arena. It was all Panthers all night with a dominating performance on the defensive end of the ball against the hottest team in the Missouri Valley Conference on their home court.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Grace Boffeli opened the matchup with a put-back layup early in the first quarter. UIC answered with a pair of free throws before the Panthers went on a seven-point run including five straight points from Boffeli to take a 9-2 lead. The Flames ended the run with a jump shot which was followed by a layup from Maya McDermott to take an 11-4 lead into the media timeout.
Taryn Wharton drilled a jump shot for her first points of the game out of the break before back-and-forth baskets from UNI and UIC. Back-to-back Panther points from Kayba Laube and Rachael Heittola were followed by a UIC pull-up jumper before McDermott banked in a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give UNI a 12-point lead at 24-21 at the end of the first quarter.
The first five minutes of the second quarter were scarce with offense and only saw five combined points into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, the Panthers were the only team to score as they put up 10 points including a three-pointer from Rachael Heittola and an and-one layup by Maya McDermott to close the first half with a 35-16 lead.
Grace Boffeli opened the second half with a put-back layup before back-to-back buckets from UIC. A pull-up jumper from Taryn Wharton took the teams into the third quarter media timeout with UNI holding a 39-20 lead.
Four points from the Flames were met with five points to answer from Kayba Laube on a three-pointer and a layup. Back-and-forth buckets ended with Maya McDermott sinking a layup to end the third quarter with the Panthers on top by a score of 48-29.
The final frame opened with Grace Boffeli and UIC trading buckets before an eight-point UNI run to take a 58-32 lead. The Flames netted their first point in close to four minutes on a free throw before the final media timeout of the matchup.
Out of the break, Ryley Goebel recorded back-to-back layups to give the Panthers a 29-point lead at 62-33. A five-point UIC run cut the UNI lead to 24 points until Ellie Foster sank a free throw to record her first point of the matchup. Another five-point run from UIC and a turnaround jumper from Taryn Wharton closed out the contest with the Panthers on top by a score of 65-43.
Grace Boffeli led the Panther scoring and rebounding efforts against the Flames with 13 points and eight rebounds. Maya McDermott was the lone Panther other than Boffeli in double-figures with 10 points.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI has now won seven straight matchups against the Flames with tonight's 65-43 victory and improved to 14-5 all-time.
- UNI allowed just four points in the second quarter. That is the lowest mark all season and the lowest since a March 3, 2022 matchup at Indiana State when UNI also allowed just four points in a quarter.
- UNI held the hottest team in the Valley to 43 points. The last time the Flames failed to score 50 or more points was in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational when they scored 41 in a loss to New Mexico State last season.
- UNI tied their season high with seven blocks against the Flames. Both Shateah Wetering and Ryley Goebel finished with a pair of blocks.
UP NEXT
The Panthers head home to face the Bulldogs of Drake on February 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
