University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
17-13,13-7MVC
Drake
11-19,10-10MVC
UNI women’s basketball: Panthers down Bulldogs on senior day
3/8/2026 4:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNI women’s hoops finishes the 2025-26 regular season with a victory over Drake, 65-58.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI women's basketball closed the 2025-26 regular season with a senior day matchup against the Drake Bulldogs. Drake came out hot and led for 33 minutes of the contest, but the Panthers turned on the jets and came away with a 65-58 victory in the 2025-26 regular-season finale.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bulldogs came out hot in the first quarter of play and held the Panthers to just four points in the first frame, their lowest scoring quarter in regulation this season. Jenna Twedt had all four Panther points in the frame with a three-pointer and a free-throw. The Bulldogs led the Panthers 17-4 after the first 10 minutes of action.
The Panther offense came alive in the second quarter and outscored Drake 26-15 in the frame. UNI cut the deficit to four points at 22-18 with a 14-5 run to open the second quarter. Ryley Goebel and Taryn Wharton each had four points in the opening four minutes of the second frame. The Panthers continued to dominate the floor with a 10-3 run, including four points from Virginia Edmondson. UNI trailed Drake by two points at 32-30 after the first half of play.
Jenna Twedt led the Panther offense in the first half with nine points, including two three-pointers. Ryley Goebel finished the first half with six points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
Out of the break, the teams battled evenly through the first five minutes of action in the third quarter with eight points apiece. A pair of late three-pointers from Abby Tuttle gave UNI a one-point edge in the quarter and cut the UNI deficit to one at 48-47 with 10 minutes to play.
The Panthers opened the fourth quarter with four free throws, three from Jenna Twedt and one from Ryley Goebel, to take a three point lead early in the frame. The Bulldogs responded with a six-point run to regain the lead before a 6-2 run from UNI gave the Cats a one-point advantage with 3:57 remaining on the clock. A Drake layup with 2:18 left was the Bulldogs' last points of the afternoon as the Panthers ended the game on an eight-point run to close out the contest with a 65-58 victory.
Jenna Twedt led the contest with 20 points, including eight from the free-throw line. Both Rykey Goebel and Bri Robinson finished with 10 points to round out the Panthers' double-figure performers. Goebel led the team with eight rebounds and five blocks to go along with two steals.
"We knew if we could stop turning the basketball over, and then finish the defensive possession with a box out, that we had a chance," said head coach Tanya Warren. "We started to put some things together where we weren't turning the basketball over and got a little bit of an offensive flow. It started with our ability to get stops and rebound the basketball."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improved to 17-13 overall and 13-7 in MVC play with the 65-58 victory over Drake. The Panthers picked up the program's 29th all-time win over the Bulldogs.
- UNI ended the season 13-7 in MVC play for its 14th consecutive season with a winning record in conference play.
- The Panthers continued an active program-record 576-game three-pointer streak with eight triples against the Bulldogs.
- The Panthers are now 15-1 when three or more Panthers score in double figures (Twedt 20, Goebel 10, Robinson 10).
- With her fifth defensive rebound of the game, Elise Jaeger passed Alex Cook's single-season defensive rebounding record from the 2002-03 season. Jaeger sits with 262 defensive rebounds this season after six against Drake.
UP NEXT
The Panthers head to the 2026 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday after securing a first-round bye. UNI will be the No. 4 seed and will face Bradley on Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT. Coverage will be available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
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.
