University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Murray State
UNI women's basketball: Panthers head to Kentucky to take on MVC contender Murray State
1/8/2026 2:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI Panther women’s basketball hits the road for the first time in 2026 to take on the Racers.
UNI (8-6 / 4-0 MVC) at Murray State (12-2 / 2-0 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | January 9, 2026
- CFSB Center | Murray, Kentucky
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers hit the road for the first time in 2026 as they head to Kentucky to face the Murray State Racers. UNI is 6-2 all-time against Murray State, but has dropped the last two to the Racers, both coming last season. A combined 11 points separated UNI and Murray State in the two games last year as the Racers were victorious by 95- 89 and 96-91 final scores. The last time these two programs faced off, Ryley Goebel finished with eight points, four rebounds, and four blocks, while Taryn Wharton was the only other current Panther to score with four points.
UNI is coming off another MVC win to open 2026. The Panthers welcomed the SIU Salukis to the McLeod Center, the Panthers' first time at home in nearly a month. The Cats got out to a hot start and never looked back as UNI took home its fourth consecutive MVC victory with a final score of 91-64.
In that matchup, Ryley Goebel led UNI's scoring effort with 18 points. She added 10 rebounds and four blocks. Kaylynn Janes finished with 17 points while Bri Robinson scored 16 to round out UNI's double-digit scorers. Robinson finished with five assists while Elise Jaeger recorded nine boards and three steals. Ryley Goebel recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the sixth of her career with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also recorded her third 4+ block game of the season and the 15th of her career.
Multiple Cats saw career-bests against the Salukis. Mya Nicholson finished with a career-high eight points and three free throws in the contest. Lauren Walker recorded a career-high six points including her first collegiate three-pointer as well as career-highs of four boards and three steals against the Salukis. Kaylynn Janes scored a career-high 17 points on a career-high seven field goals with two steals, also a career-high.
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 5, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.3 blocks per game, a 37% field goal percentage defense, and a 60.5 scoring defense. The Cats are second in the Valley with 29.1 defensive rebounds per game and a 32% three-point percentage. Individually, Elise Jaeger is second in the nation with an MVC-leading 9.6 defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore is second in the Valley and 21st in the nation with 10.3 total rebounds per game and second in the Valley and 24th in the nation with 144 total rebounds. Jaeger is seventh in the MVC, playing 32.81 minutes per contest. Ryley Goebel leads the conference with the nation's 14th-most blocks per game (2.29), 18th-most total blocks (32), and a 57.1% field goal percentage, is second in the league with five double-doubles, third in the conference with 2.07 steals per game, and fourth in the league with 115 total rebounds and 8.2 per game. Jenna Twedt is third in the conference with a 33.3% three-point percentage, fourth with 2.14 threes per game, and fifth in the MVC with 90 total three-point attempts. Bri Robinson is eighth in the Valley with 65 total free-throw attempts and a 75.4% free-throw percentage and is ninth in the league with 49 total free throws.
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 194 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 182 after the matchup with the SIU Salukis and is just five steals shy of tying Nikki Spettel's (1997-01) 187 career steals for sixth on the list.
UNI continued an active program-record 560-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of-19) following an 0-of-14 outing from behind the threepoint arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down eight triples against Southern Illinois 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.
