PEORIA, Ill. – The UNI women’s basketball team fell to Bradley Saturday afternoon 78-63. The Panthers were down by 21 points at halftime and brought the Bradley lead within six-points but the Panthers could not secure the series sweep.
After trailing by 21 at the half, Karli Rucker scored 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to eight. Rucker started the fourth quarter off with an and-one, narrowing the lead to five, 53-48, but that is as close as the Panthers would come as Bradley closed the game on a 25-15 run to earn the win and the series split.
UNI struggled to connect in the first half. Nicole Kroeger recorded five of UNI’s seven points to end the first quarter.
Nyjah White of the Braves ended with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds.
Megan Maahs recorded eight points and is now ranked No. 20 on the All-Time Scoring list with 1,038 points as a Panther. Rucker moved into No. 10 with 1,279 points.
The Braves shot 47.5% from the field and 42.9% from the three-point line. The Panthers were 100.0% from the free-throw line.
The Panthers return to the McLeod Center Feb. 19-20 to play Loyola in the next MVC series. Loyola is 8-6 overall and 6-4 in conference play. After the loss tonight, the Panthers are 9-9 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 19 and 4 p.m. on Feb. 20.
GAME NOTES:
– Megan Maahs is No. 20 on the All-Time Scoring list with 1,038 points. She needs 26 points to take No. 19 from Cindy Harms with 1,045 points.
– Maahs now has 805 total rebounds after the series against Bradley.
– Karli Rucker moved up to the No. 10 spot with 1,279 points. She needs 16 points to claim No. 9 from Kris Huffman with 1,294 points.
– The Panthers shot 100.0% from the free-throw line.
