Courtesy UNI Athletics Communications –
UNI had four different starters reach double figures against the Sycamores, with Jen Keitel leading the team with 21 points, seven boards and three assists. Hannah Schonhardt added 15 points while Brooke Brown and Madison Weekly chipped in 13 and 10, respectively.
Indiana State took a quick 7-0 lead with 17:09 left in the first half after Marina Laramie knocked down a three-pointer for their third unanswered basket. Keitel ended the Sycamore run, going to the basket and getting fouled. She was able to convert on her free throw to complete the three-point play to make the score 7-3.
Keitel cut the Indiana State lead to one-point at the 14:43 mark after hitting a long jumper to make the score 9-8. The Sycamores then went on another 7-2 run on the Panthers to take a 16-10 lead with 11:07 remaining in the half.
Indiana State extended their lead to double digits with 3:38 on the clock when Chelsea Small hit a jumper to make the score 26-16. The Panthers went into halftime trailing the Sycamores 34-21, trailing in a game for the first time since Feb. 8.
Keitel opened the second half with a jumper right inside the arc to give the Panthers some moment, making the score 34-23. On the next play, Stephanie Davison went strong to the basket for a layup, but was fouled in the process. She hit both her free throws for four unanswered points from UNI.
The Sycamores held a lead as high as 18 points with 12:23 left in the game when Small hit a three-pointer to make the score 56-38. UNI then went on to cut the Sycamore lead down to 10 after Schonhardt converted on a three-point play, making the score 68-58.
UNI brought the Indiana State lead down to 10 points again after Weekly hit a big three-pointer with 1:04 remaining in the game. The Panthers were then forced to foul with Indiana State’s Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir scoring the final four points of the game to give Indiana State the 85-72.
