CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Panthers rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter but didn't have the last three to grab the win from No. 7 Iowa State.
Sophomore forward Grace Boffeli set a career-high in points against the ranked Cyclones in UNI's tough 88-85 loss. The Panthers had three other players score in double digits including 10 treys. UNI outscored Iowa State in the second half while having at least 18 points every quarter in a 40-minute battle.
"We're a very good team. I was very proud, I thought we showed a lot of toughness. I thought we showed a lot of resiliency. I liked how we battled," said Head Coach Tanya Warren. "I think at halftime we were down 11 and we just talked about one possession at a time. We were going to mix it up defensively and try to get stops. We knew our offense would get going and it certainly did. But I'm really proud of that effort. I thought our effort was tremendous."
The game started back-and-forth in the McLeod Center as the Panthers and the Cyclones traded the lead twice and tied four times five minutes into the first. Iowa State had two three-point baskets in under a minute to start pulling away from UNI. The Panthers would get it back within two points during the first but a 6-3 stretch for the Cyclones in the final two minutes would put UNI down by five.
Point guard Maya McDermott would kick off the scoring in the second quarter with a three from the top of the key. The teams would trade a basket or two for the next three minutes. But Iowa State would go on their best run of the evening, scoring seven points in a minute of play before the under-five media timeout. The Panthers continued to cut into the Cyclones as guard Kayba Laube hit three treys in six minutes. Thanks to strong three-point shooting, UNI brought Iowa State's lead back down to single digits four times in the final five minutes of the half.
Down 48-37 going into the third quarter, UNI saw its largest deficit in the first minute as Iowa State went up by 14. That lead wouldn't last for long as guard Kam Finley made her lone trey of the night. The game would return to back-and-forth baskets for most of the quarter. The Panthers brought the Cyclones' lead down to seven twice in the final two minutes, making the gap the smallest it had been since early in the second.
UNI put on the gas midway through the fourth quarter. While Iowa State was able to get back into a double-digit lead, a 15-point run for the Panthers gave them a close lead with four minutes left. The Cyclones would take the lead back briefly, but an and-one play for Boffeli and a contested layup for Finley put UNI back on top with 2:36 left.
A few seconds later, a foul from McDermott helped Iowa State tie the game up again. McDermott would make up for the foul almost immediately, making a running jumper to give the Panthers another two-point lead and only two minutes to go. A late three-pointer and a layup in 49 seconds put UNI down by three with 1:14 left.
The teams would trade possessions with a missed shot each while the Panthers got the ball for the final possession. UNI took a timeout with seven seconds on the clock to draw up its last play. Before the ball was inbounded the Cyclones burned a timeout stalling the Panthers for 30 seconds. Once the game resumed, the ball went to Laube, who took a shot to the left of the court in three-point range that hit the rim and rolled off.
Boffeli led UNI on offense with 26 points while grabbing seven rebounds on defense. McDermott also scored over 20 points with 22 in the game. Finley and Laube also had double-digit performances with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Three Panthers had multiple steals, with Laube grabbing a career-high three takeaways.
UP NEXT:
UNI welcomes another Top 25 team to the McLeod Center over the weekend. No. 20 Creighton will visit Cedar Falls on Sunday for a matinee game. Tipoff between the Panthers and the Bluejays is set for 2 p.m. and will be on ESPN+.
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