University of Northern Iowa
Florida
Panthers open WBIT at Florida
3/19/2025 1:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball begins its first appearance in the WBIT with a matchup at Florida.
UNI (17-16 / 11-9 MVC) at Florida (16-17 / 5-11 SEC)
- WBIT First Round
- 6 p.m. CT | March 20, 2024
- Exactech Arena | Gainesville, Florida
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball continues the 2024-25 season with the program's first appearance in the WBIT when the Panthers face the Gators of Florida on Thursday, March 20 in Gainesville, Florida. This will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs with Florida claiming the lone win in the all-time series with an 80-63 victory in 2012.
UNI wrapped up the 2025 MVC Tournament with a victory in the first round against Indiana State, 87-73, and a loss to Belmont, 64-46. In the Indiana State matchup, Five Panthers finished in double figures with Kayba Laube leading the way with 19 and eight boards. Shateah Wetering added 18 points, seven boards, and three steals to her total while Emerson Green, Taryn Wharton, and Maya McDermott finished with 14, 13, and 10 points respectively. Ryley Goebel finished with a game-high three blocks and two steals. Against Belmont, Kayba Laube and Maya McDermott led UNI with 12 points each. Laube finished with five rebounds while McDermott assisted on four buckets. Ryley Goebel finished with four blocks and five rebounds.
UNI continued a 545-game triple streak with five threes against Belmont.
Against Indiana State, Maya McDermott became the second Panther in UNI history to eclipse 1,900 career points. The senior guard finished with 10 points. Ryley Goebel continued her dominant defensive season with three blocks and two steals against the Sycamores. With the two steals, Goebel became the first Panther in UNI history to record 150+ career blocks AND steals.
During the regular seasons against Valparaiso, Maya McDermott broke the UNI single-season record for field goals set by Diane Roberts (1984-85) with 216. McDermott has recorded 226 field goals this season.
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 during the regular season. The forward became the first player in UNI and MVC history to record both 60+ blocks and 60+ steals in a single season.
In the regular 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 16, the Panther team leads the Valley in turnover margin (4.03) and turnovers per game (12.7). UNI is second in the MVC in steals per game (9.1), three-point percentage (35.8), and is third in bench points per game (17.1), blocks per game (3.8), and turnovers forced per game (16.76). Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in assist/turnover ratio (2.47), field goal attempts (515), and free throw percentage (90.6). Her 90.6% from the stripe is the eighth-best mark in the nation and her 2.47 assists and 515 field goals are 18th. The senior guard is third in the Valley in field goals (226), points (609), and points per game (18.5) and fourth in the league in total assists (148) and assists per game (4.5). 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 (90) and threes per game (2.73). Her 90 threes are 13th in the nation and her 2.73 threes per game are 16th. Ryley Goebel leads the Valley with 75 total blocks and 2.27 blocks per game. She is 11th in the nation with 75 total blocks and 17th in the country with 2.27 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.
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