ST. LOUIS, Missouri – In their first game of the season, the UNI women’s basketball team beat the St. Louis Billikens 63-54 on the road.
It was almost like déjà vu from the WNIT Rockford Regional as the Panthers were able to take down the Billikens to begin the regular season. UNI was able to find a strong offensive attack in the second half to propel them to the win.
“I was proud of our team for the way they battled this evening,” said Head Coach Tanya Warren. “It was a tough matchup but we were able to find the defensive holes to get the points we needed. Having four players in double-digits and almost a third of our points off the bench led to a strong offensive performance. Our defense in the second half was stellar and really propelled us to the win tonight.”
It was a slow start for the Panthers at Chaifetz Arena, who scored their first layup just before the 7-minute mark. UNI would put on the heat defensively, forcing 3 fouls on the Billikens in a minute and 15 seconds. The Panthers would get their first lead of the game at 4:17 after forward Bre Gunnels went to the line off a foul on St. Louis’ Julia Martinez. UNI would then go on a 7-point run, keeping the Billikens scoreless for over 3 minutes. St. Louis would make the last 5 baskets of the quarter to take the lead 10-14.
The Panthers quickly rebounded in the 2nd quarter, getting two baskets within 40 seconds. Guard Kam Finley would make her second 3-pointer of the half at 8:20 from the left side of the arc. The two teams would trade baskets back and forth until a media timeout at 6:15 for an injured player. The game would stay fairly even through the rest of the half as the Panthers would head into halftime down by 6.
UNI would quickly find their rhythm in the second half of the game as point guard Karli Rucker made the first basket of the half 20 seconds into the 3rd quarter. The Panthers would come back to tie up the game at 6:41 of the 3rd as Finley bodied her way through the paint to bring it to 33-33. UNI would stay strong defensively throughout as they went on a 9-point scoring run, not letting the Billikens score for over 5 and a half minutes. The Panthers would end the quarter up by 5.
Rucker would again get the first points of the 4th quarter with a layup in the paint off a turnover at 8:56. The Panthers would keep up a stiff defense, grabbing 11 rebounds and forcing 6 turnovers. The Billikens would try to keep the game close with 3 fouls in the last 2 minutes but UNI would be almost perfect at the line shooting 83.3% in the last quarter. Rucker would get the last points for the Panthers at the line to get the win 63-54.
As a team, the Panthers shot 24-65 (36.9%) from field goal range, 5-18 (27.8%) from behind the arc, and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. For the second game in a row, UNI would get the majority of their points in the paint with 32 Tuesday evening. Individually Karli Rucker would lead the team in points with 17, shooting 7-12 from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range, and 2-2 from the charity stripe. Gunnels would get a double-double on the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Finley and McDermott would also have double-digit performances.
UP NEXT:
The Panthers will have their first home game of the season against a ranked in-state foe as they take on the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes on November 14. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the McLeod Center.
