Panthers open four-game home stand against Missouri State

UNI (13-12 / 8-6 MVC) vs. Missouri State (20-5 / 12-2 MVC)

6 p.m. CT | February 20, 2024
McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball opens a four-game home stand with a matchup against Missouri State. The Panthers host the Valley-leading Lady Bears for the programs' 94th overall meeting. Missouri State controls the all-time series with a record of 62-31. The last time these teams met, the Lady Bears controlled the matchup from the opening tip to the final whistle as they came away with an 81-45 victory inside Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri. In that matchup, Kayba Laube led all scorers with 12 points. She was the lone Panther in double figures.

UNI is coming off an offense-heavy matchup at Murray State which saw a 96-91 final in favor of the Racers. In that matchup, Maya McDermott led all scorers with 35 points. She added six rebounds, leading the UNI rebounding effort, and six assists to her total. Three other Panthers recorded double-figures including 15 points from Shateah Wetering, 13 from Emerson Green, and 11 from Kayba Laube. Ryley Goebel finished with four blocks.

UNI continued an active program-record 557-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 seven threes against Murray State to continue the streak.

Maya McDermott played in her 150th career game in the matchup. The senior is just the third Panther to accomplish the feat. She finished with 35 points, her 22nd double-figure outing, her 13th 20+-point outing, and her third 30+-point outing. She was two points shy of her career-high 37-point mark, but recorded a career-high 15 field goals in the matchup.

Taryn Wharton finished the game with four points as she crossed the 500-point threshold.

Ryley Goebel became just the second athlete in UNI women's basketball history and third in Missouri Valley Conference history to cross the 50-block, 50-steal threshold in a single season.

Against Belmont, 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 259 three-pointers in her Panther career.

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 42 points shy of moving up to no. 3 on UNI's all-time scoring list. The senior guard is also just 16 field goals away from moving up to no. 4 on the all-time field goals list. Kayba Laube is just six three-pointers away from becoming UNI's all-time leading three-point shooter. She would tie Jacqui Kalin's (2007-13) career mark of 265 threes.

As of February 17, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (37.6) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI also ranks second in the Valley in steals per game (9.0) and turnover margin (3.96) and is third in bench points per game (18.0). The Panthers' 37.6% 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 assist/turnover ratio (2.88), field goal attempts (408), field goals (187), and free throw percentage (93.4). McDermott's 93.4% from the free throw line is ranked fifth in the country while her 2.88 assists per turnover are 11th. McDermott is second in the conference in total points (498), and is third in assists (124), assists per game (5.0), points per game (19.9), and three-point percentage (43.1). Kayba Laube leads the MVC in three-point percentage (45.9) and is second in three-pointers (67), and threes per game (2.68). Laube's 45.9% from deep is the seventh-best mark in the country. Ryley Goebel is second in the MVC in blocks (53) and third in the Valley in blocks per game (2.12).

The Lady Bears are coming off a 79-63 victory over Valparaiso on Sunday. The victory secured the program's eighth consecutive 20-win season. The teams were knotted at 31 at the half before Missouri State blazed in a 24-10 third quarter to take home the 16-point victory. Lacy Stokes led the way for the Lady Bears with 22 points.

The conference's no. 1 three-point offense (37.6%) faces off with the conference's no. 1 three-point shooting defense (27.5) inside the McLeod Center as the Lady Bears lead in defense from deep as well as offensive rebounds per game (13.4) and winning percentage (80%). Missouri State is second in the Valley in bench points per game (24), rebound margin (6.0), rebounds per game (39.44), scoring defense (61.4), and scoring margin (12.3). The Lady Bears have the MVC's leading stealer with 65 total steals and 2.60 steals per game, both tops in the Valley for Lacy Stokes.

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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