University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Murray State
UNI women’s basketball closed road trip at Murray State
2/14/2025 1:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball looks to capitalize on momentum in the final road game of February.
UNI (13-11 / 8-5 MVC) at Murray State (15-7 / 9-4 MVC)
- 2 p.m. CT | February 15, 2024
- CFSB Center | Murray, Kentucky
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball closes its road trip Southeast at Murray State on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Panthers are looking to capitalize on momentum after knocking off the Valley's top team on Friday which extended to a three-game win streak for the Cats.
UNI is coming off a 73-61 victory over Belmont, marking the program's first victory over the Bruins in Panther women's basketball history. The win snapped the MVC leader's 10-game win streak and was Belmont's first conference loss inside the Curb Event Center this season. The game was the Bruins' third conference loss inside the Curb Event Center as a part of the Missouri Valley Conference. In that matchup, Maya McDermott led the UNI offense with 21 points. She added a game-high six assists to her total. Three other Panthers scored in double figures to lift the Panthers over the Bruins including Emerson Green with 15, Kayba Laube with 13, and Elise Jaeger with 11. Ryley Goebel led the Panthers with eight boards while Elise Jaeger blocked three shots, a career-high.
UNI continued an active program-record 556-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 Belmont to continue the streak.
Kayba Laube moved up to no. 2 on UNI's all-time three-pointer list, passing Madison Weekly's (2013-17) mark of 256 threes. Laube has knocked down 257 three-pointers in her Panther career.
Maya McDermott finished with 21 points. Her 21st double-figure outing and 12th 20+-point outing moved the senior guard into UNI's no. 4 spot on the program's all-time scoring list. McDermott passed Madison Weekly's mark of 1,765 career points and sits with 1,774 points in her collegiate career.
Laube became the 31st member of UNI's 1,000 career point club last weekend, 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.
When Maya McDermott hits the floor against the Racers, it will be her 150th appearance. The senior would be just the third Panther in program history to reach the 150-game mark.
As of February 14, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (37.8) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI also ranks second in the Valley in turnover margin (4.08) and is third in bench points per game (18.4), steals per game (9.1) and threes per game (8). The Panthers' 37.8% from beyond the arc is the eighth-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 (2.88), field goal attempts (384), and free throw percentage (93.2). McDermott's 93.2% from the free throw line is ranked fifth in the country while her 2.88 assists per turnover are ninth. McDermott is second in the conference in assists (118), field goals (172), total points (463), and is third in assists per game (4.9), points per game (19.3), and three-point percentage (43.5). Kayba Laube leads the MVC in three-point percentage (45.8) and is second in three-pointers (65), and threes per game (2.71). Laube's 45.8% from deep is the seventh-best mark in the country. Ryley Goebel is third in the Valley in blocks (49) and blocks per game (2.04).
Murray State has lost three of its last four and is coming off a high-scoring loss to Drake on Friday night. The 92-86 loss saw a career-high 22 points from Ava Learn and a 27-point and 12-rebound performance from Katelyn Young. Learn also posted seven rebounds and four blocks in the game. Sophomore guards Halli Poock and Haven Ford had strong showings with 19 points from Poock and a 15-point and 10-assist night for Ford. The Racers recorded 35 points in the fourth quarter after just 35 points in the first and second quarters combined to nearly complete a double-digit comeback.
Murray State continues to be one of the top teams in the Valley, leading the conference in multiple statistical categories including assist/turnover ratio (1.3), free throw attempts per game (20.36), free throw percentage (78.3), free throws made per game (15.95), scoring margin (13.7), scoring offense (87.3), three-point attempts per game (30), threes per game (10.4), and turnover margin (4.32). Along with being one of the top teams in the Valley, the Racers' 10.4 threes per game is ranked third in the nation while their 30 three-point attempts per game are fourth and their 87.3 points per game are fifth. Individually, Katelyn Young leads the MVC with a 55.8% field goal percentage and 20.5 points per game.
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.
