University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Belmont
UNI women's basketball: Panthers return home for a rematch with Belmont
2/6/2026 1:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Panthers in Paradise weekend features the Cats and the Bruins inside the McLeod Center on ESPN+.
UNI (11-11 / 7-5 MVC) vs Belmont (13-9 / 9-2 MVC)
- 2 p.m. CT | February 7, 2026
- McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+
- Panther Sports Radio Network
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Panthers return home for the first time since January 25 to take on the Belmont Bruins. This will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two programs with UNI searching for their second all-time victory over Belmont. The Panthers and the Bruins matched up in Nashville, Tennessee on January 11 in a matchup that saw the Cats fall 81-62. Jenna Twedt led Panther scoring with 15 points which included a trio of three pointers. Ryley Goebel was the only other Panther in double-figures with 14 points. She added seven boards. Elise Jaeger led the Panther rebounding effort with 13 and Bri Robinson dished out a team-high four assists.
UNI women's basketball wrapped up a three-game road stretch with a matchup at Bradley on Thursday, February 5. The Panther offense couldn't match the fire of the Braves' offense, losing the contest, 69-47, and splitting the season series.
In that matchup, the Panther offense was led by Ryley Goebel, the lone double-digit point scorer of the night with 10 points. She added three blocks, three steals, and three rebounds. Elise Jaeger finished with 13 boards, including three on the offensive end of the court, four assists, and two blocks.
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 6, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.5 blocks per game, a 38.3% field goal percentage defense, and 28.7 defensive rebounds per game. The Cats are second in the Valley with a 63.6 scoring defense and a 31.7% three-point percentage. UNI's 28.7 defensive rebounds per game rank 28th in the nation. Individually, Elise Jaeger is third in the nation with a Valley-leading 9.2 defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore is second in the Valley with 10.1 rebounds per game and 223 total rebounds. Ryley Goebel is 11th in the nation with a Valley-leading 2.45 blocks per game and 54 total blocks. The senior is 20th in the country with a 57.4% field-goal percentage. Goebel is second in the MVC with eight double-doubles and one of 26 players in the NCAA with a triple-double this season, as well as one of three in the Valley. The forward is fourth in the league with 179 total rebounds and 2.05 steals per game and fifth in the conference with 8.1 rebounds per game. Jenna Twedt is second in the conference with a 35.6% three-point percentage, 2.36 threes per game, and 52 total threes, and fourth in the MVC with 146 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 217 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. 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 568-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.
