University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
18-14,13-7MVC
Murray State
30-3,19-1MVC
UNI women’s basketball: Panthers fall to Racers in MVC Tournament Semifinals
3/14/2026 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI ends its Valley Tournament run in the Semifinals with a 72-59 loss to top-seeded Murray State.
CORALVILLE, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball ended its MVC Tournament run in the Semifinals with a matchup against Murray State. The Racers jumped out to a quick lead before the Cats battled back, thanks to a career day from Abby Tuttle, and took a lead heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter was all Murray State, as the Racers advanced over the Panthers, 72-59.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Racer offense came out hot off the opening tip, with the first nine points of the contest. The Panthers answered with back-to-back buckets, but Murray State continued to flex its offensive muscles with another late seven-point run to extend its lead to 12 points at 21-9 with just under three minutes to play in the opening frame. A pair of buckets from Kaylynn Janes and Ryley Goebel cut the Racer lead to eight before Murray State closed the opening 10 minutes of play with four points to jump back out to a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
After a three-point play from Jenna Twedt opened the second quarter, Murray State went on a 13-4 run, including three three-pointers, to take an 18-point lead with 2:48 remaining in the first half. Back-to-back three-point plays from Elise Jaeger and Abby Tuttle sparked the Panther lineup, as UNI proceeded to finish the second quarter on an 11-point run to cut the deficit to seven points at halftime. Including the two three-point plays, Jaeger knocked down a triple, and Taryn Wharton made a jump shot to end the first half. Murray State led the Panthers 38-31 at halftime.
Jenna Twedt led UNI scoring with eight points at halftime, while Ryley Goebel and Elise Jaeger scored six in the first 20 minutes of action. Maren Schmotzer brought in four boards in the first half.
Out of the break, Ryley Goebel hit back-to-back buckets for the Cats before Abby Tuttle and Jenna Twedt took over and went on a nine-point run to give UNI its first lead of the game at 44-43. Tuttle scored the first five points of the run on a layup and a three-pointer before Twedt followed that up with a pair of free throws and a layup. A three-pointer from Murray State was followed by four points from Bri Robinson and a layup from Lauren Walker to extend the Panther lead to four points. The Racers tied the game with 1:30 left on the clock before a free-throw from Elise Jaeger and a layup from Abby Tuttle closed the quarter with UNI on top, 53-50.
The Racers dominated the fourth quarter, opening the frame on an 18-point run, and outscoring the Cats 22-6 over the 10 minutes to secure a 72-59 victory in the MVC Tournament Semifinals.
Abby Tuttle led the Panther offense with 14 points. She finished 5-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Ryley Goebel and Jenna Twedt were the other two Panthers in double-figures with 12 points each. Goebel finished with a UNI-high eight rebounds, including five offensive boards. Elise Jaeger finished with three steals.
"It was a tough start," said head coach Tanya Warren. "We dug ourselves a hole to start the game. I talked about it in the second quarter, we needed to get the game into single-digits by halftime. We were able to do that. We came out and played extremely well in the third quarter. We switched up defenses to try and contain Poock a little bit, and it seemed to cause them problems. We got ourselves back in a rhythm offensively, and we battled. I am extremely proud and honored to coach this team. It was a good battle today."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI drops to 18-14 on the season after the loss to Murray State. The loss is the Panthers first to the Racers in the Valley Tournament.
- The Panthers continued an active program-record 578-game three-pointer streak with three triples against the Racers.
- The Panthers are now 15-2 this season when three or more athletes score in double-figures (Tuttle 14, Goebel 12, Twedt 12). Both losses came to Murray State.
- Abby Tuttle scored a career-high 14 points with five made field goals.
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.
