University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
UNI women's basketball: Panthers open 2026 inside the McLeod Center against SIU
1/3/2026 1:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI Panther women’s basketball takes on the Salukis to open the New Year.
UNI (7-6 / 2-0 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (3-9 / 0-3 MVC)
- 2 p.m. CT | January 4, 2026
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers open the year 2026 with a matchup inside the McLeod Center on January 4 against the Southern Illinois Salukis. This will be the 87th all-time meeting between these two programs, with UNI holding a 51-35 lead in the series. The last time these teams met was in February of last year, when UNI took home an 87-51 victory over SIU in Cedar Falls. In that matchup, Ryley Goebel led current Panthers with 10 points and six rebounds to go along with three blocks and a steal. Elise Jaeger finished with six points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and three steals while Kaylynn Janes, Taryn Wharton, and Bri Robinson combined for 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
UNI closed out 2025 with a 75-74 victory over UIC on December 31. The New Year's Eve matchup proved to be a thriller to end the year with back-and-forth action all the way to the final buzzer. The Panthers and the Flames traded blows over the stretch of the fourth quarter, but a clutch basket from the Panthers, followed by lock-down defense, gave UNI the edge in the contest by a 75-74 final.
In that matchup, Ryley Goebel led Panther scoring with 23 points. She was one rebound shy of another double-double on the season, with nine boards, and added four blocks and two steals. Jenna Twedt and Bri Robinson each finished with 15 points while Taryn Wharton tallied 12 points to round out double-digit scoring for UNI. Elise Jaeger finished with a UNI-high seven assists while Bri Robinson dished out six. Goebel recorded a career-high 23 points and 11 field goals while Jaeger dished out a career-high seven assists.
Ryley Goebel was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday, December 8. Goebel finished the Panthers' 2-0 week with 30 points, 19 rebounds, 11 steals, and four blocks in a pair of 10+-point victories, including a 14-point win over Illinois State. Against the Redbirds, Goebel finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and seven steals, just three swipes short of being the Panthers' third double-double performer in UNI history. The forward was 14-24 (58.3%) from the floor, including a 60% shooting performance (6-for-10) against Illinois State. Goebel led the Panthers in both matchups.
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 3, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.2 blocks per game, a 36.8% field goal percentage defense, and a 60.2 scoring defense. The Cats are second in the Valley with 29.0 defensive rebounds per game and a 31.4% three-point percentage. Individually, Elise Jaeger leads the nation with 9.6 defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore is second in the Valley and 19th in the nation with 10.4 total rebounds per game and second in the Valley and 25th in the nation with 135 total rebounds. Jaeger is sixth in the MVC, playing 33.26 minutes per contest. Ryley Goebel leads the conference with the nation's 21st-most blocks per game (2.15) and 22nd-most total blocks (28), is second in the league with a 55.6% field-goal percentage, third in the conference with 2.15 steals per game, and fourth in the league with 105 total rebounds and 8.1 per game. Jenna Twedt is third in the conference with a 32.1% three-point percentage, fourth with 2.08 threes per game, and fifth in the MVC with 84 total three-point attempts.
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 190 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 has 181 after the matchup with the UIC Flames and is just six steals shy of tying Nikki Spettel's (1997-01) 187 career steals for sixth on the list.
UNI continued an active program-record 559-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of- 19) following an 0-of-14 outing from behind the three-point arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down three triples against UIC 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.
