CEDAR FALLS – For the second season in a row, the Panthers will host their first game of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) at the McLeod Center, facing Colorado State Thursday night.
UNI enters Thursday’s first round of the WNIT with a 22-9 record after being knocked out of Hoops in the Heartland MVC Championship Tournament by Belmont in the semifinal round. This is the third straight year the Panthers are competing in the WNIT as an at-large bid, but it may be UNI’s toughest path to the championship. As a part of Group 3, the Panthers are one of six teams in the top 75 of the NET rankings making up half the pod. And UNI won’t have an easy first test against the Colorado State Rams, a team the Panthers have seen before but not in over a decade.
UNI women’s basketball vs. Colorado State
6 p.m. | March 16
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN3 | Brad Wells: Play-by-play, Emily Hoffert: Analyst
KXEL | Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-play
THE PANTHERS:
– Three Panthers picked up some end of season hardware at Hoops in the Heartland this past week. Sophomore forward Grace Boffeli was named to the All-MVC First Team, sophomore point guard Maya McDermott was named to the All-MVC Second Team, and freshman forward Ryley Goebel was named to the All-MVC Freshman Team. McDermott also picked up the MVC’s Most Improved Player Award after raising her point average from 5.4 to 14.6 and her assists average from 1.7 to 3.5.
– Sophomore forward Grace Boffeli picked up some additional hardware at Hoops in the Heartland this year. Along with making the All-MVC First Team for her play during the regular season, Boffeli also made the All-Tournament Team for her play in Moline. Boffeli led all players in blocks made during the tournament and was second in rebounds to Drake forward Maggie Bair.
– Head Coach Tanya Warren picked up her first win as UNI’s head coach against Colorado State back in 2007. The Panthers beat the Rams at home 72-58 in the team’s first meeting since the early 1990s.
– Last season the Panthers won their first game of the WNIT at home against Kansas City. UNI dominated the Roos 75-58 before falling to fellow MVC members Drake in the second round.
THE RAMS:
– Colorado State finished its season with a 20-11 record and a 12-6 record as a member of the Mountain West. As a no. 3 seed, the Rams made it to the semifinal round of their conference tournament before getting bounced by second-seeded Wyoming 65-56.
– This is the Rams’ ninth appearance in the WNIT with an overall record of 8-8. This will be Head Coach Ryun Williams’ sixth appearance with Colorado State and seventh overall. This is also The Rams’ fourth time making back-to-back appearances in the tournament.
– Colorado State Head Coach Ryun Williams is no stranger to the Midwest or UNI. Williams is a graduate of South Dakota and coached the women’s basketball team for four seasons from 2008 to 2012. While Head Coach for the Coyotes, Williams regularly played the Panthers with a record of 1-3.
– Despite not making it to their championship game, the Rams picked up some impressive hardware last week. The Rams have both the Mountain West Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in senior point guard McKenna Hofschild and guard Destiny Thurman.
