University of Northern Iowa
8-12,7-4MVC
Illinois State
14-7,7-4MVC
Panther defense stands tall in victory over Illinois State
2/8/2024 8:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tanya Warren won her 200th Valley game with a 74-47 victory over the Redbirds.
CEDAR FALLS --- UNI matched up with the Illinois State Redbirds inside the McLeod Center for its first rematch of the season after meeting the Redbirds two weeks ago. The Panthers stepped on the gas from the tip and never let up as they defeated the Redbirds by a score of 74-47.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds struck first with an and-one layup before a 19-point Panther run which was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Cailyn Morgan. A layup after nearly a seven-minute scoring drought for Illinois State was followed by another three-pointer from Cailyn Morgan to push the Panther lead to 22-5 after the first quarter.
Illinois State opened the second quarter with an eight-point run before a free throw from Rachael Heittola and a layup from Ryley Goebel. Another jump shot from Illinois State cut the Panther lead to 10 points at 25-15 until UNI went on a nine-point run which was capped off by a put-back layup from Shateah Wetering out of the media timeout.
Illinois State scored their last points of the first half on a jump shot before back-to-back Panther baskets including a three-pointer from Shateah Wetering. UNI held a 39-17 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Out of halftime, a pair of free throws opened the third quarter for the Redbirds before back-to-back layups from the Panthers. Rachael Heittola had the Panthers' next five points with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer. Back-and-forth baskets closed the third quarter with a score of 55-31 in favor of the Panthers.
Grace Boffeli scored the first points of the fourth quarter for the Panthers after a jump shot by the Redbirds fell. Illinois State hit a pair of baskets before Boffeli netted back-to-back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer, for her own seven-point run for UNI. Ellie Foster capped the game with a three-pointer.
Grace Boffeli led the UNI offense with 17 points. She added a season-high 13 boards to her total. Maya McDermott and Cailyn Morgan were the other two Panthers in double-figures with 12 and 11 points respectively. Ryley Goebel finished with a career-high-tying four blocks in the contest to go along with her five rebounds.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI won their 42nd matchup against the Redbirds. They are now 42-48 all-time against Illinois State.
- The Panthers held the Redbirds to 17 points in the first half. That is the lowest mark for Illinois State this season and the first time the Redbirds have scored less than 18 points in the first half since February 20, 2022, in a home matchup against Southern Illinois when they scored 15 points.
- Illinois State finished the first quarter with five points. It was the fifth time this season the Redbirds have scored double-digits in a quarter this season and the first since January 21 at UIC.
- Grace Boffeli finished with 13 rebounds against Illinois State. She passed Deb Drenth (1979-83) for no. 5 on the all-time charts.
- Grace Boffeli recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 29th all-time with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
- The Panthers recorded their largest margin of victory against the Redbirds since a 30-point victory in 2018.
UP NEXT
The Panthers finish their three-game home stand on February 10 with a matchup against Bradley. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
