AMES – UNI women’s basketball went on a 16-0 fourth-quarter run and the Panthers outscored Iowa State 24-14 in the final frame to earn a 71-63 win over the Cyclones to close out non-conference play.
The win gave the Panthers a sweep of Iowa and Iowa State for the first time since the 1974-75 season and gives UNI consecutive wins over Iowa State for the first time since 1975-76. The Panthers also capture three wins over Power-Five teams for the first time in program history.
The Panthers scored first, but Iowa State built a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, the Cyclones extended the advantage to 25-19, but Kam Finley hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 25. The Panthers took a 33-32 lead on a Nicole Kroeger three-pointer with 2:17 to play in the second and UNI maintained a lead for the remainder of the half and much of the third.
UNI led 38-34 at the break, but Iowa State rallied to take a 49-47 lead on a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter.
Iowa State extended the lead to 55-47 with 8:29 to play, capping off an 11-0 run. The Panthers would not go quietly. UNI went on a 16-0 run with six straight points by Kristina Cavey followed by eight straight points by Karli Rucker and closed out with a bucket by Megan Maahs to put UNI up 63-55 with 2:37 to play.
Rucker hit two more buckets to extend the lead to 67-57 with 1:34 to play before Iowa State rallied. The Cyclones hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-53, but that is as close as ISU would come. Cavey and Rucker hit free throws down the stretch and UNI picked up the eight-point win.
UNI was 23-65 (35.4%) from the field and 8-26 (30.8%) from the three-point line, but were a stellar 17-18 (94.4%) from the charity stripe.
The Panthers also outrebounded Iowa State 42-36, including 16 offensive boards. UNI forced Iowa State into 21 turnovers and recorded 11 steals.
Cavey notched her best game to date in a Panther uniform with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. She was 10-10 from the free-throw line and 4-8 from the field, including 2-5 from three. Rucker scored a season-high 25 points, including 9-18 from the field. She also had three rebounds, a pair of assists and a pair of steals. Kam Finley scored 11 points in the game.
Ashley Joens led Iowa State with 22 points. Two other Cyclones Players scored in double figures. ISU was 22-58 (37.9%) from the field 7-23 (30.4%) from the field and an atypical 12-20 (60%) from the free-throw line.
The win moves UNI to 8-3 on the season. UNI closes out non-conference play with the most non-conference wins in program history, surpassing the 1998-99 team that went 7-1 before league action.
NOTES
– Kristina Cavey recorded the first double-double of the season by any Panther player.
– Cavey had a career-high 10 rebounds, surpassing her previous best of 10 against UCLA on Dec. 7, 2018, while playing for Fresno State.
– Cavey recorded a career-high in free throws attempted and free throws made at 10 each.
– Karli Rucker has a season-high 25 points, she tied her career-high of nine field goals made.
– Rucker scored 14 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter and Cavey scored eight of her 20 in the fourth.
– The Panthers topped Iowa State in back-to-back meetings. The last time UNI beat the Cyclones in consecutive meetings was in 1975, 1976.
– UNI beat Iowa and Iowa State in the same season for the first time since the 1974-75 season, but the Panthers and the Cyclones split meetings in that season.
– The win is the first-ever for the Panthers in Ames. UNI was 0-18 going into the match up.
– UNI enters conference play on a 3-game win streak.
– After picking up wins over Mizzou and Iowa, UNI is 3-2 on the season in games against Power-Five Opponents. The Panthers are 1-1 against the SEC, 1-1 against the Big-Ten and 1-0 against the Big-12.
– The Panthers are one of six Missouri Valley Conference teams with eight or more wins at this point in the season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers start Missouri Valley Conference play at Drake on Jan. 3 in Des Moines. The Bulldogs are 7-4 on the year with a game on the road against Northern Illinois on Dec. 29.
