University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Murray State
UNI women's basketball: Panthers host Racers on Panthers and Paws night
1/22/2026 11:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s basketball welcomes UNI fans’ four-legged friends inside the McLeod Center for a matchup against Murray State.
UNI (9-8 / 5-2 MVC) vs. Murray State (16-2 / 7-0 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | January 23, 2026
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers host the Murray State Racers on Friday, January 23, for a UNI-first, Panthers and Paws night inside the McLeod Center. The Panthers welcome UNI fans and their four-legged friends for UNI's first consecutive home game of the season after a matchup in Cedar Falls last Sunday. This is the second time this season the Cats and the Racers face off. In game one at Murray State, the Panthers hit the gas in the first half and led by as many as 19 points before Murray State stormed back in the second half and walked away with the comeback victory in Kentucky by a 75-71 final. Bri Robinson led the Panther offense with 19 points. She brought in 11 boards and added two assists and a steal to the Panther line. Ryley Goebel, Jenna Twedt, and Taryn Wharton all finished with double-figure point totals with 13,12, and 11 points, respectively. Goebel finished with a game-high 13 rebounds while Twedt had the Panthers' lone three-pointer.
UNI is coming off a 73-70 victory inside the McLeod Center over the Bradley Braves. The Panthers and the Braves put on a show with 10 lead changes as well as both teams shooting over 40% from the floor. The Cats held a late lead, but the Braves had a chance to tie the contest. Two missed triples by Bradley on the final possession of the matchup gave the Panthers a 73-70 victory at home.
In that matchup, Ryley Goebel dominated the court against the Braves with 32 points on 14-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She added 12 boards, five blocks, and three steals to her totals. Jenna Twedt finished with 16 points on four triples and four free throws. Elise Jaeger led the Cats with five assists and five steals. Elise Jaeger recorded a career-high five steals.
Ryley Goebel recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the eighth of her career with 32 points and 12 rebounds. The senior guard set career highs with her 32 points, 14 field goals, and two three-pointers and tied a career high with five blocks. Goebel's five blocks give her 200 in her career, making her just the seventh to do so in Valley history. The last time a Panther scored 30+ points was last season at Murray State when Maya McDermott scored 35 in a 96-91 loss in Kentucky.
Ryley Goebel was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday, January 19. Goebel had one of the most dominant games in Panther history on Sunday in UNI's lone matchup of the week. The senior forward finished with 32 points on 14-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She added 12 boards, five blocks, and three steals to her totals. Goebel recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the eighth of her career with 32 points and 12 rebounds. The senior guard set career highs with her 32 points, 14 field goals, and two three-pointers, and tied a career high with five blocks. Goebel's five blocks give her 200 in her career, making her just the seventh to do so in Valley history. Her two three-pointers were her first triples since her freshman season. Goebel is the only player in Division I currently averaging 2+ blocks AND steals this season.
The Panthers are coming off a 2024-25 season that saw numerous season-highs, including single-season points and field goals records as a team. UNI scored 2,519 total points on 934 field goals last season to set program records in those categories.
Starting in all 34 matchups, Ryley Goebel proved to be one of the top defenders in the Missouri Valley Conference after becoming the first player in UNI and MVC history to record 70+ blocks and 70+ steals in a single season. The senior forward became one of 19 to do so in the NCAA at the time. Her MVC All-Defensive team season saw 10.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 2.1 steals per game as she recorded the fourth-best field goal shooting season in program history with a 58.9% (162-for-275) field goal percentage and the third-most single-season blocks in program history (78).
Four Panthers were named to the MVC Preseason Watchlist in October, including Goebel, Taryn Wharton, Elise Jaeger, and Bri Robinson. Jaeger became the 12th Panther to be named to the MVC All-Freshman Team after averaging 5.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, including four double-double performances.
UNI finished the home portion of the 2024-25 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.
As of January 20, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with a 38% field goal percentage defense and a 63.1 scoring defense. The Cats are second in the Valley with 4.0 blocks per game, 28.8 defensive rebounds per game, and a 31.1% three-point percentage. UNI's 28.8 defensive rebounds per game rank 33rd in the nation. Individually, Ryley Goebel leads the conference with the nation's 16th-most blocks per game (2.24), 18th-best field goal percentage (58.4%), and 20th-most total blocks (38). Goebel is second in the MVC with seven double-doubles, third with 2.00 steals per game, and fourth with 147 total rebounds and 8.6 rebounds per game. Elise Jaeger is fourth in the nation and second in the Valley with 9.1 defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore is also second in the Valley with 9.9 total rebounds per game and 168 total rebounds. Jenna Twedt is second in the conference with a 35.5% three-point percentage, third in the Valley with 2.24 threes per game and 38 total threes, and fifth in the MVC with 107 total three-point attempts. Bri Robinson is sixth in the Valley with 65 free throws and 86 free-throw attempts and is ninth with a 75.6% free-throw percentage.
Last season, Ryley Goebel became the first player in UNI and Missouri Valley Conference history to record 70+ blocks and 70+ steals in a single season. The forward was just one of 19 to do it in NCAA history at the time and was named to the All-MVC Defensive Team for her efforts. Goebel moved up to No. 2 on UNI's all-time blocks list during the 2024-25 season and now sits with 200 career blocks. She is currently third on UNI's career blocks per game list with 1.8 blocks per outing. Against Valparaiso, Goebel passed Kris Huffman (1985-89) for seventh on UNI's all-time steals list. The senior tied Nikki Spettel's (1997- 01) for sixth on the list with three steals against Bradley and sits with 187 career steals. Goebel is four steals away from tying KK Armstrong (2008- 12) for fifth all-time. She is currently the only NCAA Division I women's basketball player averaging 2+ blocks AND steals this season. After accomplishing this feat last season, Goebel looks to become the first player in Division I to do so in consecutive seasons since Cheyenne Parker (2010- 15 HPU/MTSU) did it in 2011-12 / 2012-13.
UNI continued an active program-record 561-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of-19) following a 0-of-14 outing from behind the three-point arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down six triples against Bradley to continue the streak.
UNI owns active streaks of 17 consecutive seasons at .500 or better in Missouri Valley Conference play and 16 years in a row with at least a top-half finish in the league standings. These are the best active streaks among the 22 total MVC men's and women's basketball programs.
Following a recent audit of historical Missouri Valley Conference coaching records, former Southern Illinois head coach Cindy Scott's win total while a head coach in the league was discovered to be 311 (not 353 as previously recorded). As a result, Missouri State's Cheryl Burnett, previously listed second with 319 wins, had been the league record-holder for total victories while a head coach in the MVC. With her 320th victory on March 7, 2024, at Indiana State, Tanya Warren officially became the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time winningest women's basketball coach. Warren, the longest-tenured active head coach in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball, sits alone at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference leaderboard in Valley wins with her record-breaking, 202nd conference victory coming at Murray State. The 18-season veteran on the UNI bench has been the Panthers' wins leader since a 65-64 victory on March 4, 2017, against Missouri State put her past Tony DiCecco, and she claimed her 300th win in 2023 in an 83-60 blowout on February 12 at Valparaiso.
This season, the Panthers return six total players including four that made starts in the 2024-25 season. Ryley Goebel leads the returners in playing time with Taryn Wharton, Elise Jaeger, Bri Robinson, and Kaylynn Janes seeing 2024-25 minutes. Mya Nicholson returns as a redshirt freshman after not seeing any action last year. The six athletes combine for 306 career games played and 160 games played over the 2024-25 season, but just 63 career starts with 59 of them coming last season.
The Panthers bring in six newcomers including one NAIA transfer, Virginia Edmondson, one junior college transfer, Jenna Twedt, and four freshmen Abby Tuttle, Anna Greene, Maren Schmotzer, and Lauren Walker.
Edmondson comes to UNI from Montreat College where she made 61 starts in three seasons with the Cavaliers. Edmondson averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. She had a standout 2024- 25 season, posting 20.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest, including three 30-point games and four double doubles. A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, she was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Defensive Player of the Year and earned spots on both the All-AAC First Team and All-Defensive Team.
Jenna Twedt joins the Panthers from Kirkwood Community College after a standout two-year career. The 5-foot- 8 guard started all 72 games for the Eagles, averaging 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Twedt was named the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Tournament MVP as a freshman and earned Conference Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. A two-time First Team All-American, she made 112 three-pointers shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc last season.
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 2025-26 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
