University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Indiana State
UNI women's basketball: Panthers look to bounce back with a matchup against Indiana State
2/11/2026 9:49:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s hoops works to get back into the win column against the Sycamores.
UNI (11-12 / 7-6 MVC) vs Indiana State (8-15 / 4-9 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | February 12, 2026
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers stay home and host the Indiana State Sycamores on Thursday, February 12. This will be the 89th meeting between these two programs with UNI holding a slight advantage in the all-time series, 45-43. The last time these teams met up was in the first round of the 2025 Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament. The Panthers outpaced the Sycamores with a 14-point victory in Evansville, Indiana thanks to five double-figure scoring performances, including 13 from Taryn Wharton along with seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals from Ryley Goebel.
UNI is coming off a loss to Belmont at home on Saturday. The Panthers struggled to slow down the Belmont Bruins in the final frame in a 70-58 loss inside the McLeod Center. Northern Iowa's three-point shooting performance produced six triples in the first half and saw its defense force eight Belmont turnovers, but was unable to stop the Bruins' offense in the final frame.
In that matchup, Ryley Goebel and Jenna Twedt finished the afternoon with a team-high 15 points each, while Kaylynn Janes tallied nine points on three made triples. Taryn Wharton posted six points in the loss as Elise Jager posted a game-high 11 rebounds and team-high four assists along with five points. Virginia Edmondson also added five points with Lauren Walker scoring three points.
Ryley Goebel was named the MVC Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, February 2. Goebel became the second player in MVC history and the first in UNI history to record a points-rebounds-blocks triple double with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks against Drake. The senior set the UNI single-game record and tied the Valley single-game record with her 10 blocks. She did so while shooting 58.3% (7-for-12) from the floor and 80% (4-for-5) from the free-throw line in the matchup and added three steals. Goebel is just the second player in NCAA Division I this season to record a game with double-digit blocks. Goebel shot 64.7% (11-for-17) from the floor in the Panthers' 1-1 week, which included a 10-point win at Drake. She finished with 27 total points, 23 total rebounds, 10 total blocks, and four total steals on the week. She is the first Panther with three or more POTW honors in a single season since Jacqui Kalin in 2012-13.
Jenna Twedt was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, January 26. Twedt led the Valley in scoring last week with 50 total points, including a 20-point performance in UNI's 15-point victory over then-MVC-undefeated Murray State. The junior led the Panthers in scoring in both contests and averaged 25 points per game, highlighted by a career-high 30-point performance against Evansville. The 30 points tied for the most scored by a Valley player in a single game last week. She posted the highest three-point percentage in the Valley last week (52.9%) among players with at least 10 attempts, shooting 9-for-17 across the Panthers' two matchups. Twedt was one of just three athletes in the league to record multiple 20-plus-point performances.
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 February 9, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.3 blocks per game, a 38.9% field goal percentage defense. The Cats are second in the Valley with 28.1 defensive rebounds per game, a 63.9 scoring defense, and a 31.8% threepoint percentage. Individually, Elise Jaeger is fourth in the nation with a Valley-leading 9.1 defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore is second in the Valley with 10.2 rebounds per game and 234 total rebounds. Ryley Goebel is eighth in the nation with a Valley-leading 2.43 blocks per game and 56 total blocks, the 11th-most in the country. The senior is 2nd in the nation with a 57.1% field-goal percentage. Goebel is second in the MVC with eight double-doubles and has one of 26 triple-double performances (22 players) in the NCAA Division I this season, as well as one of three in the Valley. The forward is fourth in the league with 182 total rebounds and 1.96 steals per game, and fifth in the conference with 7.9 rebounds per game. Jenna Twedt is second in the conference with 2.39 threes per game and 55 total threes, third with a 35.9% three-point percentage, and fourth in the MVC with 153 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 218 career blocks. She is currently third on UNI's career blocks per game list with 1.9 blocks per outing. Against Drake, Goebel passed Loretha Mosley (1987-91) for No. 4 on UNI's all-time steals list with three steals in the contest. She now sits with 198 career steals and is now 20 steals shy of tying Betty Davis (1979-83) for third on the list.
UNI continued an active program-record 569-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 nine triples against Belmont 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.
