University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Valparaiso
UNI women's basketball: Panthers return home to face Valparaiso
2/25/2026 11:17:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Beacons come to town as UNI looks to end the regular season with four high notes.
UNI (13-13 / 9-7 MVC) at Valparaiso (0-27 / 0-16 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT | February 26, 2026
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers return to the McLeod Center to take on the Valparaiso Beacons on Thursday, February 26. This will be the second time these teams have faced off this season, with UNI taking the previous matchup in December. In UNI's 86-52 victory in Valparaiso, Indiana, Jenna Twedt led UNI with 18 points, including five three-pointers. Twedt added four steals to her stat line. Kaylynn Janes, Taryn Wharton, Ryley Goebel, and Bri Robinson were all in double figures with 16, 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Goebel added 13 boards to her line, along with three steals, while Robinson dished out seven assists.
UNI is coming off an overtime loss at Evansville on Saturday in Indiana. The Panther offense was hot in the first quarter and shot 51.6% from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action, but the Purple Aces came storming back and forced overtime with a 30-21 second half and, eventually, claimed the contest with a one-point, overtime victory, 64-63.
In that matchup, Ryley Goebel led the Panther offense with 23 points. She added 14 rebounds, seven blocks, and two steals. Jenna Twedt was the only other Panther in double-figures with 18 points. She was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Kaylynn Janes finished with six assists and five rebounds.
Ryley Goebel recorded seven blocks against the Purple Aces. She passed Bre Gunnels (2021-22) and Carol Hogan (1982-83) for No. 4 on UNI's single-season blocks list. The senior has recorded 71 total blocks this season and is now seven blocks shy of passing her own mark from last season of 78 for No. 3 on the list.
Lauren Walker made her first collegiate start against the Purple Aces. She finished with eight points, three rebounds, and a steal.
Ryley Goebel recorded her 10th double-double of the season and the 11th of her career with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Goebel joins Alex Cook, Grace Boffeli, and Megan Maahs as one of just four UNI players with double-figure double-doubles in a single season. Alex Cook has three (17 2002-03, 13 2003-04, and 10 2004-05), Grace Boffeli has two (15 2022-23 and 12 2023-24), and Megan Maahs has one (12 2017-18).
Kaylynn Janes finished with career-highs of six assists and five rebounds.
Ryley Goebel was named the MVC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday, February 16. In UNI's lone matchup of the week, a 12-point win over Indiana State, Ryley Goebel led the Panthers with 32 points and 16 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season. Goebel also finished with five blocks and three steals against the Sycamores. She became the only player in UNI and Missouri Valley Conference history with 200+ career blocks AND steals. This is the 12th time a Panther has had nine or more double-doubles in a single season. She is the seventh individual athlete with nine or more double-doubles in a single season at UNI. Goebel set career highs with 16 rebounds and eight free throws and tied a career high with 32 points against Indiana State. With five blocks against Indiana State, Ryley Goebel moved past Sharon Zeilmann (Missouri State, 1983-87) for No. 4 on the MVC all-time blocks list.
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 23, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.4 blocks per game, a 38.3 defensive field goal percentage, and 28.7 defensive rebounds per game. The Cats are second in the Valley with a 63.8 scoring defense. and a 33% three-point percentage. Individually, Ryley Goebel is third in the nation with a Valley-leading 2.73 blocks per game, sixth in the nation with 71 total blocks, and 16th in the nation with a 58.6% field goal percentage. Goebel is second in the MVC with 10 double-doubles and has one of 28 triple-double performances (23 players) in the NCAA Division I this season, as well as one of three in the Valley. Goebel is third in the league with 1.96 steals per game, fourth with 219 total rebounds, and fifth with 8.4 rebounds per game. 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 10.1 rebounds per game and 252 total rebounds. Jenna Twedt is second in the conference with 2.65 threes per game, 69 total threes, and a 38.1% three-point 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 226 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 203 career steals and is now 15 steals shy of tying Betty Davis (1979-83) for third on the list.
UNI continued an active program-record 572-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 five triples against Evansville 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.
