Panthers continue home stretch against UIC

UNI (7-6 / 2-0 MVC) vs. UIC (4-7 / 1-1 MVC)

2 p.m. CT | January 4, 2024
McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball continues Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday, January 4 when the Panthers take on the UIC Flames inside the McLeod Center. This will be the 21st overall meeting between the two programs. UNI holds a 15-5 lead in the series and an eight-game winning streak. The Panthers are 8-2 against the Flames at home.

UNI is coming off a 93-70 victory over Valparaiso to advance to 7-6 on the season and 2-0 in MVC play. In that matchup, Ryley Goebel and Maya McDermott led UNI with 20 points each. Goebel was 10-for-10 from the field and added four assists to her total. Kayba Laube and Emerson Green were the other two Panthers in double figures with 17 and 13 points respectively. Laube added seven defensive boards. Ryley Goebel recorded a career-high 20 points on a career-high 10 field goals as she was perfect from the field (10-for-10). Kaylee Corbin recorded a career-high three free throws. Bri Robinson recorded a career-high four steals.

UNI continued an active program-record 545-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 six threes against Valparaiso to continue the streak. Maya McDermott continued her streak of double-digit scoring matchups with 20 points against Valparaiso. McDermott has recorded double-figure points in all 13 matchups this season and has scored 20+ in eight of this season's matchups.

UNI checks in at no. 72 in the NET Rankings. The Panthers rank third in the Valley behind Belmont (56) and Murray State (61). Drake is number four at 79. UIC checks in at 164. This will be UNI's fifth Quad 4 matchup including victories over Pitt, South Dakota, Indiana State, and Valparaiso this season.

Kayba Laube continues to eye the 1,000-point club as she sits with 908 points, just 92 short (after her 17 points against Valparaiso) of being UNI's 31st member and fourth member in the last two seasons after Grace Boffeli, Maya McDermott, and Emerson Green joined last season. She is also just three three-point attempts away from breaking into UNI's top-five and passing Emily Berry (2001-05) with 563. Laube currently holds UNI's second spot in three-point percentage with a career mark of 42.6% and is on pace to break the Panthers' single-season record of 52.8% set by Kris Huffman in the 1988-89 season. Laube is just 11 threes away (239) from being the third Panther on UNI's 250+ three-pointer list.

Maya McDermott is one field goal away from breaking into UNI's top-five and passing Madison Weekly (2013-17) who made 565 field goals in her career at UNI.

As of January 3, the Panther team currently leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (38.4), turnover margin (4.54) and turnovers per game (13.1). UNI also ranks second in the Valley in field goal percentage (46.1) and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.11), scoring offense (77.7), steals per game (9.5), threes per game (8.2), and turnovers forced per game (17.62). The Panthers' 38.5% from beyond the arc is the 10th-best mark in the nation. Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in field goal attempts (224), field goals (104), points (286), and points per game (22). McDermott's 22.2 points per game is ranked ninth in the nation. McDermott is second in the conference in assist/ turnover ratio (2.52) and free-throw percentage (92.3) while sitting third in assists (63) and assists per game (4.8). Kayba Laube leads the MVC from beyond the arc including three-point attempts (86), three-point percentage (54.7), three-pointers (47), and threes per game (3.62). Laube's 54.7% from deep is the best mark in the country while her 3.62 threes per game is third and her 47 total threes are sixth. Ryley Goebel leads the Valley in steals (34) and steals per game (2.62) and is second in the conference in blocks (28) and blocks per game (2.15).

The Flames opened their four-game road trip at the Knapp Center Thursday night, falling to Drake in an 86-63 matchup in Des Moines, Iowa. UIC was led in scoring by graduate student Danyel Middleton with 10 points, three rebounds and a steal. The forward has five games in double figures this season and 30 games in her career at UIC. Graduate student Kristian Young scored nine points and dished out four assists in 18 minutes of play off the bench. Young has tallied 472 career assists in a Flames uniform, 33 assists away from surpassing Terri Bender (2012-17) as the new leader in program history. Senior Arin Freeman contributed 11 points and led the team in rebounds with six.

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.

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