University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
South Dakota
Panthers host Coyotes in final home non-conference test
12/9/2024 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball closes the home portion of the non-conference schedule against South Dakota.
UNI (4-4 / 0-0 MVC) vs. South Dakota (4-6 / 0-0 Summit)
- 6 p.m. CT | December 10, 2024
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS --- UNI women's basketball hosts the South Dakota Coyotes on Tuesday, December 10 inside the McLeod Center for the Panthers' final home non-conference test of the season. This will be the 15th meeting between these programs and the first inside the McLeod Center since 2015. The Coyotes hold an 8-6 record in the all-time series after their 84-65 victory in Vermillion, South Dakota last season.
UNI is coming off a 71-75 loss inside the McLeod Center to the RV Creighton Bluejays on Saturday. In that game, Maya McDermott led the Panthers with 23 points. She added three rebounds and two steals to her total. Taryn Wharton and Kayba Laube were the other two Panthers in double-figures with 11 and 10 respectively.
Maya McDermott recorded her sixth 20+point game of the season with 23 against Creighton and Bri Robinson recorded a career-high four assists.
UNI continued an active program-record 540-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of-19) following an 0-of-14 outing from behind the three-point arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down seven threes against Creighton to continue the streak.
This will be the 15th meeting between the Panthers and the Coyotes. South Dakota has taken home victories in the last two meetings and four of the last five dating back to 2013. The Panthers' last win against the Coyotes came inside the McLeod Center in 2015. UNI is 6-1 against South Dakota with a home-court advantage.
UNI checks in at no. 67 in the NET Rankings. The Panthers' ranking is third in the Valley behind Murray State (46) and Belmont (52). Drake is number four at 105. South Dakota checks in at no. 245.
South Dakota is coming off an 84-79 victory over Northern Arizona in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge on December 7. That matchup saw four players score in double figures: Grace Larkins (21 points), Carley Duffney (16), Olivia Kieffer (15), and Gabby Wilke (13). Kieffer was the star in the final two minutes of the game. She buried three-pointers on three straight possessions to put the Coyotes ahead for good. Wilke had a breakout game. The freshman scored 13 points (11 in the first half), and added eight rebounds, both career highs. Grace Larkins ranks sixth nationally at 23.4 points per game, just two spots behind McDermott.
UNI women's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Women's Basketball), X (@UNIwbb), and on Instagram (@uni_wbb). The 2024-25 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
