University of Northern Iowa
Indiana State
Panthers open final weekend of regular-season play at Indiana State
3/6/2024 6:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Women’s hoops faces off with the Sycamores in the final weekend of the regular season.
UNI (13-14 / 12-6 MVC) at Indiana State (10-18 / 6-12 MVC)
- 5 p.m. CT | March 7
- Hulman Center | Terre Haute, Indiana
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS --- UNI women's basketball opens the final week of regular season play with a matchup at Indiana State. This will be the 84th overall meeting between these two squads with UNI taking home the last matchup by a final score of 85-79 inside the McLeod Center in January. That matchup saw Maya McDermott, Emerson Green, Kayba Laube, and Shateah Wetering record double-figures with 20, 18, 16, and 14 points respectively. The Panthers scored a season-high 23 points from the free-throw line. This was the first time they had eclipsed 20 free throws in a single game since their WNIT matchup against Colorado State where they had 22 free throws.
UNI is coming off a 61-52 victory over UIC. In that game, Maya McDermott led the Panther offense with 20 points, her eighth 20+-point performance of the season. Grace Boffeli was the other Panther in double-figures with 15 points. She notched her ninth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
Forward Grace Boffeli recorded 10 rebounds in the game against the Flames. Her 828 career rebounds leave her in third on UNI's all-time rebounding list. She is now 54 shy of the no. 2 spot which is occupied by Megan Maahs (2016-21) with 882 career rebounds.
Maya McDermott leads both the conference and the nation in free throw percentage. Her 95.8% (69-for-72) from the stripe has seen all 39 free throws go down inside the McLeod Center. She also leads the conference with 2.76 assists per turnover. That mark is the 11th-best in the nation.
Guard Kayba Laube leads the conference with a 42.4% three-point percentage. Her 64 three-pointers this season lead the MVC along with a league-high 2.37 threes per game.
As a team, UNI leads the conference with a league-low 12.6 turnovers per game. That mark is the 20th-best in the nation. The Panthers recorded their 507th straight matchup with a three-pointer. In the game against the Flames, UNI knocked down one three to continue a streak that has been active since December 2008. As a program, the Panther women's basketball team is two conference wins away from 500.
With a win over the Salukis, UNI women's basketball secured its 16th straight season at or above .500 in conference play. They also finish the regular season 9-4 at home, the 11th straight year the Panthers have been over .500 inside the McLeod Center. UNI women's basketball has never posted a losing record inside the McLeod Center.
Indiana State is coming off back-to-back losses against Belmont and Murray State. In their latest game against Murray State, the Sycamores fell by a score of 87-70. That matchup saw three Indiana State athletes in double-figures including fifth-year guard Ella Sawyer with 15 points, redshirt senior Mya Glanton with 13 points, and sophomore guard Bella Finnegan with 12 points.
Senior guard Kiley Bess leads the Sycamore offense this season with 11.2 points per game. Glanton is second on this season's scoring list for Indiana State with 10.5 points per game. She also leads the Sycamore rebounding effort with 6.9 boards per game. Fifth-year forward Chelsea Cain and Bella Finnegan are the other two athletes averaging over 10 points per game with 10.2 and 10.1 respectively.
