CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Panthers endured another physical battle in their final game of the regular season in an 86-67 win over the Missouri State Lady Bears.
UNI muscled its way to a series split with the Lady Bears with a huge second half, outscoring Missouri State 45 to 32. Sophomore guard Emerson Green had her best all-around game of the year, leading the Panthers in both points and rebounds. Green came one rebound shy of a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds.
The Panther's two fifth-year seniors, guard Kam Finley and center Cynthia Wolf spoke to the media following their last regular season game in the McLeod Center.
"What a great team win, what a way to send our seniors out," said Head Coach Tanya Warren. "The start of the game was such a special moment. I'm extremely grateful to Missouri State for allowing us to honor CJ [Cynthia Wolf] with being able to start her and make her final basket in the McLeod. It means more than I could put into words.
"We're going to take some time to enjoy this. What a terrific year by this team and a terrific season. This team has battled a lot of adversity going back to the summer. They've handled themselves so well. Every time they've been knocked down, they've gotten themselves up.
"So we're going to take some time to celebrate. Anytime you go 21-8 and 16-4 in league play and are just a game out of winning a share, we're not going to bypass those moments. We're going to take the time with our seniors and celebrate tonight. We'll get back to work in terms of the conference tournament on Monday."
It was an emotional start to the game as senior center Cynthia Wolf took one last start for UNI. Both teams scored a bucket in the first minute, with Wolf given room to make the Panthers first basket. Wolf came off the court following her layup to a standing ovation as the game began in earnest.
It took UNI a few moments to recover from the emotion as the Lady Bears started a six-point run. Point guard Maya McDermott cut into the early lead with a three-pointer, setting off a shot-for-shot battle. The Panthers took their first lead of the game with just under five minutes gone on an eight-point run highlighted by two more treys for McDermott and Green.
Missouri State continued to fight back, tying the game up once and retaking the lead at 2:02 in the first. Two free throws and a last-second layup from point guard Taryn Wharton gave UNI a three-point lead after one.
The Panthers didn't give up their lead for the rest of the game, breaking out on a nine-point run to start the second. With an early double-digit lead, UNI didn't lead by less than three for the final 25 minutes. The Lady Bears did have their best scoring run of the game in the second to bring the Panther lead down to three.
UNI answered almost immediately with forward Grace Boffeli making back-to-back layups, with the second resulting in a three-point play. Guard Kayba Laube made the last bucket of the half for the Panthers with a second-chance three from the right side of the arc. A brief four-point run from Missouri State ended the first have, giving UNI a six-point advantage.
The Lady Bears made a three to start the second half, which became their last basket for the next four minutes. The Panther defense stepped up to the plate in the first half of the third, allowing the offense to go on a six-point run to lead by nine. Midway through the third was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams trying to grab the Hoops in the Heartland third seed.
In the final three minutes of the quarter, UNI burst out on an 11-3 run that was capped by a step-back three for center Rachael Heittola in the final seconds. With a 17-point lead entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers were ready to shut down Missouri State and end the season on a high note. An early foul gave Boffeli a bucket at the line.
Neither team scored over the next minute and a half but was broken up by a Lady Bear run. With its lead down to 12, McDermott answered for UNI with five straight points, forcing the final timeout of the game. The final five minutes of the game were alternating buckets that grew the Panthers lead to 23 thanks to two three and multiple two-point shots. Missouri State answered mostly with layups, which weren't enough to cut into UNI's lead. With both team starters pulled for the final two minutes, the Panthers came out on top with the 86-67 victory.
UNI shut down one of the best defensive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, leading in every defensive team category on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers grabbed 32 boards, stole seven balls, and made one block against the Lady Bears. They also shot well from the floor, going 29-59 (49.2%) from field-goal range, 11-25 behind the arc (44%), and 17-21 at the charity stripe (81%).
Green was all over the floor for UNI with 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. The only category Green didn't lead the Panthers in was blocks as forward Ryley Goebel made the team's lone block of the game. While Green had a phenomenal day, three other Panthers hit double-digits in Boffeli (12), McDermott (11), and Heittola (10). Boffeli also hit her average in rebounds with eight.
UP NEXT:
UNI has secured the no. 3 seed for Hoops in the Heartland in Moline next week. The Panthers won't know their opponent until Thursday night as they'll play the winner of the fourth game of the post-season conference tournament. UNI could play either UIC or Valparaiso in their next game on Friday, March 10 at 8:30 p.m.
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