Panthers open final weekend inside the McLeod Center

UNI (14-13 / 9-7 MVC) vs. Evansville (6-21 / 2-14 MVC)

6 p.m. CT | February 27, 2024
McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball opens its last weekend in the McLeod Center with a matchup against Evansville. This will be the 65th all-time matchup between the Panthers and Purple Aces with UNI holding a 45-19 record including all 20 of the last 20 matchups. The Panthers have not lost to the Purple Aces inside the McLeod Center since 2008.

UNI is coming off an 87-51 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday. In that matchup, Kayba Laube led all scorers with 17 points. The senior guard was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and 6-for-9 from the floor. She added seven boards to her total. Maya McDermott (14), Shateah Wetering (13), Emerson Green (12), and Ryley Goebel (10) were the other Panther scorers in double figures. Goebel finished with six rebounds and three blocks while Elise Jaeger finished with seven rebounds. Kaylynn Janes recorded a career-high six points in the contest.

Kayba Laube broke the UNI all-time three-point record set by Jacqui Kalin (2007-13). Her fifth three-pointer of the game gave her 266 career threes and eclipsed Kalin's 265-mark.

The Panthers' 36-point victory is UNI's largest Division I victory of the season and its largest victory over a Division I opponent since a 46-point victory at Bradley last season.

UNI continued its 539-game three-pointer streak with 10 triples against Southern Illinois. It was UNI's eighth double-figure three-point game of the season.

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 24 points shy of moving up to no. 3 on UNI's all-time scoring list. The senior guard is also just eight field goals away from moving up to no. 4 on the all-time field goals list and eight free throws from breaking into UNI's all-time top 10.

As of February 24, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (37.1) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI's 37.1% from deep is the 13th-best mark in the nation. The Cats are second in the MVC in steals per game (9.1) and turnover margin (4.00) and third in bench points per game (17.8), blocks per game (3.8), and scoring offense (74.9). 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 (434), and free throw percentage (92.3). Her 92.3% from the charity stripe is seventh-best in the nation while her 2.74 assists per turnover are 14th. The senior guard is second in the league in field goals (195) and third in assists (129), assists per game (4.8), points (516), and points per game (19.1). Kayba Laube leads the Valley with a 46.4% three-point percentage, the sixth-best mark in the nation, and is second in the MVC in threes (74) and threes per game (2.74). Ryley Goebel Leads the Valley with 59 total blocks and 2.19 blocks per game. She is 15th in the nation with 59 total blocks.

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.

Calendar

Upcoming Events