TERRE HAUTE, Indiana – The UNI women’s basketball team completed their largest comeback of the season, erasing a 16-point deficit in the second half to sweep the series with Indiana State.
The Panthers 61-55 win over the Sycamores has cemented the third seed for UNI in the Hoops in the Heartland MVC tournament next weekend. Senior point guard Karli Rucker stepped up in a big way for the Panthers as she posted 22 points for her second-largest scoring outing of the season. While freshman forward Grace Boffeli grabbed another double-double, her seventh of the season.
“It was a tale of two halves basically,” said Head Coach Tanya Warren. “We went from one of our worst quarters of the year to our best quarter of the year. Our second quarter wasn’t very good but our third quarter was terrific.
“I thought mixing up defenses got our energy going, created some turnovers, and got our offensive rhythm. And perhaps that’s something I need to do more often. But I liked the persistence and the toughness that we showed in the second half. And Karli Rucker was terrific leading the offense tonight.”
UNI would grab the tip-off and grab the first basket of the game from Rucker. It’d be back and forth layups until the Sycamores went on a six-point layup to grab their only lead change of the game. Forward Grace Boffeli ended the run with a layup to return the game pace to trading shots. A Rucker three-pointer would tie the game back up as the two teams went back and forth with one another until Indiana State had another brief run. The Panthers would have the final two baskets of the quarter, going into the second down by one.
While it would be close in the first, the Sycamores would break the game wide open in the second. Indiana State grabbed the first jump shot of the quarter but wouldn’t start a true run until midway through. Rucker would make the only points of the second for UNI as she hit a trey, a jump shot, and a free throw in the front half of the quarter. The Sycamores would end the quarter on a 12-0 run in the final four minutes for the Panthers to go into halftime down by 14.
Indiana State would add onto their lead in the first 15 seconds of the half with a jump shot. But UNI would find its offense quickly as Boffeli drew a shooting foul a minute in and made two at the line. The Panthers scored two more baskets in quick succession before the Sycamores would get another jump shot. UNI would answer back in a big way going on a 20-0 run for the last six minutes of the third quarter. The run would be highlighted by Bre Gunnels’s three-point play to start, an Emerson Green three-pointer in the middle, and a strong layup for Boffeli to end the quarter.
The Panther run would continue at the start of the fourth as Green would make five points in the first minute and 15 seconds. The Sycamores would pause the bleeding with a free throw 10 seconds after Green’s five-nothing run. The free throw would begin a 13-0 run for Indiana State over six minutes. During the Sycamore run, neither team would score for almost three full minutes. But UNI would find a way to get back on top after a tie from Indiana State as Rucker made the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer jump shot from the left side. A jump shot from the Sycamores would make it a one-point game but a layup from Boffeli and two free throws from Rucker sealed the deal for the Panthers to win 61-55.
UNI’s shooting game would be middling overall as they made 22-50 (44.0%) from the floor, 4-17 (23.5%) from behind the arc, and 13-24 (54.2%) from the free-throw line. The Panther’s performance from the line was their second-lowest of the season behind the road game against Drake. But UNI’s third quarter was one of their best shooting going 10-16 (62.5%) from the floor, 1-4 (25%) from the three-point range, and 5-7 (71.4%) from the charity stripe. The Panthers did excel in the rebound game, grabbing 41 boards compared to the Sycamores 34.
Individually UNI had three players in double figures. Guard Karli Rucker led the team with 22 points while guard Emerson Green would pick up 16. Forward Grace Boffeli would have another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers. Forward Bre Gunnels would also have double-figure rebounds for UNI as she grabbed 10 boards. Center Cynthia Wolf led the team in assists with four and made two steals.
UP NEXT:
The Panthers close out the regular season against Evansville and look to have their first 20-win season since 2018-2019. Tipoff for the final game is set for 1 p.m. at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
