University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
9-8,4-2MVC
Murray State
11-4,5-1MVC
Panthers drop offensive battle with the Racers
1/16/2025 8:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball fell to Murray State at home, 95-89.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI women's basketball hosted the Murray State Racers on Thursday, January 16. In what can only be called an offensive showdown, Murray State continued to cut the Panther momentum down the stretch with game-changing threes to take home a 95-89 victory inside the McLeod Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers opened the contest with seven points before a nine-point run from Murray State gave the Racers a 9-7 lead early in the first quarter. A 9-6 Racer advantage took the teams into the first-quarter media timeout with the Racers ahead 18-13. The Panthers held a three-point advantage down the stretch of the frame with 10 points in the last five minutes to cut their deficit to two points at 23-25 heading into the second quarter.
The Murray State offense opened the second quarter hot with a 15-3 run to take a 40-26 lead early in the quarter. A trio of threes, two from Maya McDermott and one from Kayba Laube, cut the Racer lead to six at the end of the first half with a score of 44-38 in favor of Murray State heading into the break.
A high dose of offense came out of the halftime break with a four-point Murray State run to open the third quarter. Kayba Laube responded with a five-point run of her own to cut the Racer lead to four at 47-43. Taryn Wharton hit the next two buckets for the Panthers with a Kaylee Corbin jumper taking the teams into the third-quarter media timeout with Murray State still in the driver's seat by a score of 59-50. Runs from both teams in the back half of the third quarter saw the Racers hold a 10-point lead at 71-61 heading into the final frame.
The teams battled back and forth through another offense-heavy quarter which saw UNI win the frame 28-24, but drop the game 95-89. Kayba Laube led the UNI offense with 18 points. She added five rebounds. Five other Panthers saw double figures including Maya McDermott (17), Taryn Wharton (16), Ryley Goebel (10), Emerson Green (10), and Elise Jaeger (10). Maya McDermott recorded seven assists.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI drops to 9-8 on the season and 4-2 in conference play after the 95-89 loss to Murray State. The Racer victory was Murray State's first win over the Panthers in program history.
- UNI continued an active program-record 549-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of-19) following a 0-of-14 outing from behind the three-point arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down 11 threes against Murray State to continue the streak.
- Kaylee Corbin knocked down a three-pointer in the first quarter to tie her career high.
- Maya McDermott recorded her 200th career three-pointer. She became the eighth Panther in UNI history to record 200+ career threes.
UP NEXT
The Panthers stay home and take on Belmont on Saturday, January 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center and can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
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.
