University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Northern Arizona
UNI women's basketball: Panthers take on NAU and UNLV in Las Vegas
11/25/2025 2:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball set to take part in the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament.
UNI (1-3 / 0-0 MVC) at the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament
- 4:30 p.m. CT | November 26, 2025 vs. Northern Arizona (1-5)
- 4:30 p.m. CT | November 28, 2025 at UNLV (2-3)
- Thomas & Mack Center | Las Vegas, Nevada
- YouTube (NAU) / Mountain West Network (UNLV)
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI heads to Las Vegas to take part in the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The Panthers take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the UNLV Rebels on Wednesday, November 26 and Friday, November 28 respectively. UNI hasn't matched up with NAU since 1994 but holds a 2-1 record in the all-time series including a 1-0 record on a neutral floor. The Panthers meet the Rebels for the first time since 1985 and just the second time in program history. UNLV claimed the neutral-site victory in the 1985 matchup.
UNI is coming off its first victory of the season in a 51-50 nailbiter at Creighton on November 20. After falling behind by 10 at halftime, the Panthers outscored the Bluejays 29-18 in the second half including holding Creighton to just five points in the third quarter. The victory was the Panthers' first win over Creighton since a 64-63 victory in the 2021 WNIT and UNI's first victory in Omaha over the Bluejays since a 58-57 victory in 2011.
Ryley Goebel led all scorers with 19 points, just two shy of a career high. She added eight boards and a pair of blocks. Elise Jaeger finished with 13 rebounds and three steals on the night while Bri Robinson tallied 10 points and six boards.
Elise Jaeger's 13 rebounds were a career high, Ryley Goebel's five free throws were a career high, and Bri Robinson tied career highs with six rebounds and four field goals.
After three steals against Iowa, Ryley Goebel passed Alex Cook (2001-05) for the No.10 spot on UNI's all-time steals list. The senior has 157 after the matchup, passing Cook's 155 career steals to break into the top 10. She is now 15 steals shy of Kelley Westhoff's (1993-97) 172 career steals in ninth on the list.
The Panthers are coming off a 2024-25 season that saw numerous season-highs, including single-season points and field goals records as a team. UNI scored 2,519 total points on 934 field goals last season to set program records in those categories.
Starting in all 34 matchups, Ryley Goebel proved to be one of the top defenders in the Missouri Valley Conference after becoming the first player in UNI and MVC history to record 70+ blocks and 70+ steals in a single season. The senior forward became one of 19 to do so in the NCAA at the time. Her MVC All-Defensive team season saw 10.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 2.1 steals per game as she recorded the fourth-best field goal shooting season in program history with a 58.9% (162-for-275) field goal percentage and the third-most single-season blocks in program history (78).
Four Panthers were named to the MVC Preseason Watchlist in October, including Goebel, Taryn Wharton, Elise Jaeger, and Bri Robinson. Jaeger became the 12th Panther to be named to the MVC All-Freshman Team after averaging 5.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, including four double-double performances.
UNI finished the home portion of the 2024-25 regular season with a 9-6 record inside the McLeod Center. It is the 12th consecutive season the Panthers have been over .500 inside the McLeod Center. As of November 24, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference through four games with 4.8 blocks per game, a 36% field goal percentage defense, and 29.8 defensive rebounds per game. The Cats are second in scoring defense (62.3). Individually, Elise Jaeger is 3rd in the nation with a Valley-leading 9.8 defensive rebounds per game. Jaeger leads the MVC with 10.5 total rebounds per game, the 23rd-best mark in the nation, and is second with 34.15 minutes per game and 2.75 steals per game. Ryley Goebel leads the league with the nation's 18th-best blocks per game mark with 2.5 per outing. Goebel also leads the conference with 10 total blocks on the season.
Last season, Ryley Goebel became the first player in UNI and Missouri Valley Conference history to record 70+ blocks and 70+ steals in a single season. The forward was just one of 19 to do it in NCAA history at the time and was named to the All-MVC Defensive Team for her efforts. Goebel moved up to No. 2 on UNI's all-time blocks list during the 2024-25 season and now sits with 170 career blocks. She is currently third on UNI's career blocks per game list with 1.8 blocks per outing. Against Iowa, Goebel passed Alex Cook (2001-05) for the No.10 spot on UNI's all-time steals list. The senior has 157 after the matchup with Iowa, passing Cook's 155 career steals to break into the top 10. She is now 15 steals shy of Kelley Westhoff's (1993-97) 172 career steals in ninth on the list.
UNI continued an active program-record 550-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 three triples against Creighton to continue the streak.
UNI owns active streaks of 17 consecutive seasons at .500 or better in Missouri Valley Conference play and 16 years in a row with at least a top-half finish in the league standings. These are the best active streaks among the 22 total MVC men's and women's basketball programs.
Following a recent audit of historical Missouri Valley Conference coaching records, former Southern Illinois head coach Cindy Scott's win total while a head coach in the league was discovered to be 311 (not 353 as previously recorded). As a result, Missouri State's Cheryl Burnett, previously listed second with 319 wins, had been the league record-holder for total victories while a head coach in the MVC. With her 320th victory on March 7, 2024, at Indiana State, Tanya Warren officially became the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time winningest women's basketball coach. Warren, the longest-tenured active head coach in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball, sits alone at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference leaderboard in Valley wins with her record-breaking, 202nd conference victory coming at Murray State. The 18-season veteran on the UNI bench has been the Panthers' wins leader since a 65-64 victory on March 4, 2017, against Missouri State put her past Tony DiCecco, and she claimed her 300th win in 2023 in an 83-60 blowout on February 12 at Valparaiso.
This season, the Panthers return six total players including four that made starts in the 2024-25 season. Ryley Goebel leads the returners in playing time with Taryn Wharton, Elise Jaeger, Bri Robinson, and Kaylynn Janes seeing 2024-25 minutes. Mya Nicholson returns as a redshirt freshman after not seeing any action last year. The six athletes combine for 306 career games played and 160 games played over the 2024-25 season, but just 63 career starts with 59 of them coming last season.
The Panthers bring in six newcomers including one NAIA transfer, Virginia Edmondson, one junior college transfer, Jenna Twedt, and four freshmen Abby Tuttle, Anna Greene, Maren Schmotzer, and Lauren Walker.
Edmondson comes to UNI from Montreat College where she made 61 starts in three seasons with the Cavaliers. Edmondson averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. She had a standout 2024- 25 season, posting 20.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest, including three 30-point games and four double doubles. A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, she was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Defensive Player of the Year and earned spots on both the All-AAC First Team and All-Defensive Team.
Jenna Twedt joins the Panthers from Kirkwood Community College after a standout two-year career. The 5-foot- 8 guard started all 72 games for the Eagles, averaging 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Twedt was named the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Tournament MVP as a freshman and earned Conference Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. A two-time First Team All-American, she made 112 three-pointers shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc last season.
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 2025-26 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
