Panthers wrap regular season at Valparaiso

UNI (15-15 / 10-9 MVC) at Valparaiso (13-17 / 9-10 MVC)

1 p.m. CT | March 8, 2024
Athletics-Recreation Center | Valparaiso, Indiana
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Panther Sports Radio Network

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball closes the regular season on Saturday, March 8 at Valparaiso. This will be the 21st meeting between the two programs with UNI holding a 15-5 record in the overall series including victories in the last seven straight.

UNI is coming off a 76-57 loss at UIC on Thursday. In that matchup, Ryley Goebel led all players with 21 points. She added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to her game total. Goebel was the lone Panther in double figures with Maya McDermott the next-highest Panther scorer with nine points. Elise Jaeger finished with a team-high nine boards.

Maya McDermott passed Karli Rucker (2017-22) for the no. 2 spot on UNI's all-time scoring list. McDermott finished with nine points in the contest. McDermott also passed Jacqui Kalin (2007-08) for no. 7 on UNI's single-season assists list. McDermott has dished out 135 assists this season.

Ryley Goebel finished with a career-high 21 points. The junior also broke into UNI's top-10 in single-season steals with two steals against the Flames. She is tied for no. 10 with Ann Miller (1992-93) with 66 steals on the season.

UNI continued its 542-game three-pointer streak with a pair of triples against UIC.

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. Goebel moved up to no. 3 all-time on UNI's blocks list and no. 3 on UNI's single-season blocks list.

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 7, the Panther team leads the Valley in a number of statistical categories including three-point percentage (36.2) and turnovers per game (12.8). UNI's 36.2% from deep is the 22nd-best mark in the nation. The Panthers are second in the Valley in blocks per game (3.8), steals per game (9.1), and turnover margin (3.93) and are third in scoring offense (74.3). Individually, multiple Panther athletes are among the tops in the Valley. Maya McDermott leads the MVC in field goal attempts (476), and free throw percentage (92.2). Her 92.2% from the stripe is the sixth-best mark in the nation. The senior guard is second in the Valley in assist/turnover ratio (2.45) and third in the league in field goals (212), points (565), and points per game (18.8). Kayba Laube leads the Valley with a 45.9% three-point percentage, the fourth-best mark in the nation, and is second in the MVC in threes (78) and threes per game (2.60). Ryley Goebel leads the Valley with 68 total blocks and 2.27 blocks per game. She is 15th in the nation with 68 total blocks and 18th in the country with 2.27 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.

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