University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
Panthers look to bounce back against Southern Illinois
2/21/2025 6:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball continues a four-game homestand against the Salukis.
UNI (13-13 / 8-7 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (4-20 / 2-13 MVC)
- 2 p.m. CT | February 22, 2024
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball plays host to Southern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the Panthers' second matchup of a four-game home stand. The last time these teams met, UNI took home an 84-59 victory which improved UNI's all-time record to 50-35. The 86th meeting between these two programs comes with the Panthers on a four-game win streak against the Salukis. UNI has won 13 of the last 14 matchups dating back to 2018.
UNI is coming off a heartbreaking 75-72 overtime loss against Missouri State on Thursday evening. In that matchup, Emerson Green led the Panthers with 28 points. She added seven rebounds and six assists to her total. Ryley Goebel was the other lone Panther in double figures with 20 points. She added seven boards as well.
The Panthers' game against the Lady Bears was UNI's annual Pink Out game. Head coach Tanya Warren donated $25 to Love Inc. for every three-pointer made during the game. Including the two that coach made during a promotional video shoot, coach Warren donated $125 after the Cats knocked down three threes against the Lady Bears which extended the Panthers' three-pointer streak to 558 games.
Maya McDermott crossed the 500-point threshold for the season with her first bucket of the game. She has recorded 500+ points in back-to-back seasons after 506 points last season.
Emerson Green finished with a career-high 28 points and a career-high tying six assists. Ryley Goebel tied her career high with 20 points. The game was the Panthers' first game with multiple players recording 20+ points since this season's Valparaiso matchup which saw Ryley Goebel and Maya McDermott each score 20.
Against Murray State, 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.
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 38 points shy of moving up to no. 3 on UNI's all-time scoring list. The senior guard is also just 14 field goals away from moving up to no. 4 on the all-time field goals list. Kayba Laube is just four 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 21, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (36.8) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI's 36.8% from deep is the 16th-best mark in the nation. The Cats are second in the MVC in steals per game (9.0) and turnover margin (3.88). Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in assist/turnover ratio (2.74), field goal attempts (422), and free throw percentage (93.4). Her 93.4% from the charity stripe is fifth-best in the nation while her 2.74 assists per turnover are 13th. The senior guard is second in the league in field goals (189) and third in assists (126), assists per game (4.8), points (502), points per game (19.3), and three-point percentage (41.4). Kayba Laube leads the Valley with a 45.4% three-point percentage, the eighth-best mark in the nation. Laube is second in the MVC in threes (69) and threes per game (2.65). Ryley Goebel is second in the league with 56 total blocks and third with 2.15 blocks per game.
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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.
