PEORIA, IL – Kam Finley drained a three-pointer with 0:01 second to go in the game to give UNI a 73-72 win over Bradley and cap a career night for the junior.
The Panthers started the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead, 63-47. Bradley went on a 20-5 scoring run to take the lead from the Panthers with only 0:29 seconds to go in the game. Lasha Petree, Tatum Koenig and Uche Ufochukwu contributed to the 20-point takeover.
At the 0:13 second mark, Megan Maahs countered with a jumper making the score 70-69 but Petree was quick to grab another two points to make the lead change again in Bradley’s favor, 72-70.
With 2.4 seconds on the clock and no timeouts left for the Panthers, Finley found space on an inbound pass from Karli Rucker and hit the dagger three over the outstretched hands of Lasha Petree, the preseason MVC Player of the Year.
Bradley started the game with a 6-0 run but the Panthers battled back to challenge the Braves for the lead. The Panthers created a 4-point deficit in the second quarter that allowed them to gain control for 81.1% of the game.
The Braves would tie up the game in the third quarter, 43-43, but the Panthers went on an 8-0 scoring run with 6:04 left until the final quarter of the game. Kaybe Laube ended the third quarter with a three-point buzzer-beater and the Panthers led by 16 points.
Finley’s buzzer-beater was the final of five made three’s for the junior on the night. She scored a career-high 25 points in the win. Nicole Kroeger scored 12 points and Karli Rucker added 11 to join Finley in double figures. Rucker also added five assists. Bre Gunnels added a career-high 16 rebounds.
The Braves shot 42.0% while the Panthers shot 41.0% from the field. The Panthers went 100.0% from the charity stripe in the matchup tonight which gave them 13 of their 73 points.
The win moves the Panthers to 9-8 on the season and 6-4 in conference play. UNI is now tied for the third spot in conference play with Loyola. Bradley falls to 11-8 on the year and -5 in MVC play.
The Panthers and the Braves meet again on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. in the Renaissance Coliseum for the final game in this MVC series.
GAME NOTES:
– Kam Finley recorded a new career-high 25 points.
– Bre Gunnels also recorded a new career-high 16 rebounds.
– Megan Maahs ended the night with six points. She is tied for the No. 23 spot on the All-Time Scoring list with 1,030 points, she only needs one more to claim No. 23.
– Karli Rucker scored 11 points earning her the No. 12 spot on the All-Time Scoring List. She only needs nine more points to take over Tami Schebler’s No. 11 spot.
– Nicole Kroeger is 100% for Free-Throws this season.
