Panthers look to knock off Valley’s top team in Nashville

UNI (12-11 / 7-5 MVC) at Belmont (16-7 / 11-1 MVC)

6 p.m. CT | February 13, 2024
Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball hits the road for the final time in February to open up a weekend series against the Valley's top teams. The Panthers open the weekend with a matchup at MVC no. 1 Belmont on Thursday evening. UNI is still looking for its first victory over Belmont in program history with a 0-6 record all-time against the Bruins. Belmont claimed a 74-60 victory inside the McLeod Center earlier this season.

UNI is coming off a 72-52 victory over Illinois State on Sunday. Taryn Wharton finished the game with a career-high 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting, while Elise Jaeger notched a new high-water mark with 15 points and tied her career-best with 12 rebounds. Kayba Laube scored ten points for Northern Iowa and pulled down seven boards, as Shateah Wetering tallied seven points. Ryley Goebel finished with six points, three rebounds, three steals and three blocks, with Emerson Green posting five points. Maya McDermott posted four points while dishing out eight assists.

UNI continued an active program-record 555-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 Illinois State to continue the streak.

Kayba Laube became the 31st member of UNI's 1,000 career point club on Sunday, joining Grace Boffeli, Maya McDermott and Emerson Green as the fourth active Panther to surpass the milestone.

Last week, Maya McDermott was named to the 2025 Women's College Basketball All-Star Game Midseason Watch List. The list includes 68 players for a game that will occur on April 5 in Tampa, Florida. Earlier this season, McDermott was named to the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award midseason watch list, as announced by Her Hoop Stats. The team included 15 players over 10 conferences. Katie Dinnebier was the other MVC athlete to be named on both lists.

Maya McDermott is 12 points away from tying Madison Weekly (2013-17) for no. 4 all-time with 1,765 points. She is also two appearances away from 150 games played in a Panther uniform. Kayba Laube is one three-pointer away from moving up to no. 2 all-time on the Panthers' three-pointer list. She would also tie Madison Weekly with 256 career threes.

As of February 10, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (37.8) and turnovers per game (12.9). UNI also ranks second in the Valley in turnover margin (4.22) and are third in steals per game (9.3) and threes per game (8.1). The Panthers' 37.8% from beyond the arc is the ninth-best mark in the nation. Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in assist/turnover ratio (2.80), field goal attempts (363), and free throw percentage (94.3). McDermott's 94.3% from the free throw line is ranked fourth in the country while her 2.80 assists per turnover are 12th. McDermott is second in the conference in assists (112), field goals (163), total points (442), and three-point percentage (44.2) and is third in assists per game (4.9) and points per game (19.2). Kayba Laube leads the MVC in three-point percentage (46) and is second in three-pointers (63), and threes per game (2.74). Laube's 46% from deep is the sixth-best mark in the country. Ryley Goebel is third in the Valley in blocks (48) and blocks per game (2.09).

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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