University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Indiana State
Panthers open the MVC Tournament with a matchup against the Sycamores
3/12/2025 4:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball opens the 2025 postseason against Indiana State
UNI (16-15 / 11-9 MVC) vs. Indiana State (4-27 / 2-18 MVC)
- Missouri Valley Conference Tournament First Round
- 8:30 p.m. CT | March 13, 2024
- Ford Center | Evansville, Indiana
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball heads to Evansville, Indiana for the 2025 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament at the Ford Center. The Panthers match up with the Indiana State Sycamores in their first-round matchup, a team that the Panthers took down in December with a score of 75-65. This will be the 88th overall meeting between the two squads with UNI holding a slight edge with a 44-43 record in the all-time series.
UNI capped off the regular season with an 85-73 victory over Valparaiso. In that matchup, Maya McDermott led UNI with 22 points. She added six assists to her total. Kayba Laube finished with 21 points marking the seventh time the Panthers have had two 20+-point scorers in the same contest and the fifth time it has been the pair of McDermott and Laube. Laube was 5-for-9 from deep and added four boards. Emerson Green was the third Panther in double-figures with 11 points. Taryn Wharton tied a career-high with three steals.
UNI continued a 543-game triple streak with nine threes against Valparaiso.
Maya McDermott broke the UNI single-season record for field goals set by Diane Roberts (1984-85) with 216. McDermott has recorded 218 field goals this season. McDermott also moved up to no. 4 on UNI's single-season assists list with six helpers against Valparaiso.
Kayba Laube moved up to number six on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time three-pointer list. Laube's 275 threes are one short of the no. 5 spot on the Valley's list.
UNI finished the home portion of the regular season with a 9-6 record inside the McLeod Center. It is the 12th consecutive season the Panthers have been over .500 inside the McLeod Center.
Ryley Goebel tied a career-high with five blocks against Drake. The forward became the first player in UNI and MVC history to record both 60+ blocks and 60+ steals in a single season.
Against Southern Illinois, 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.
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.
As of March 10, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (36.4) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI's 36.4% from deep is tied with Illinois State for the top in the Valley and is the 23rd-best mark in the nation. The Panthers are second in the MVC in steals per game (9.1), and turnover margin (4.03) and are third in bench points per game (17.3), blocks per game (3.7), and scoring offense (74.7). Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in field goal attempts (488), and free throw percentage (91.8). Her 91.8% from the stripe is the sixth-best mark in the nation. The senior guard is second in the Valley in assist/turnover ratio (2.43) and third in the league in field goals (218), points (587), and points per game (18.9). Kayba Laube leads the Valley with a 46.4% three-point percentage, the third-best mark in the nation, and is second in the MVC in threes (83) and threes per game (2.68). Her 83 threes are 15th in the nation and her 2.68 threes per game are 18th. Ryley Goebel leads the Valley with 68 total blocks and 2.19 blocks per game. She is 16th in the nation with 68 total blocks and 21st in the country with 2.19 blocks 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.
