CEDAR FALLS – The UNI Panthers hit the road again for a two-game stretch which starts with a matchup at UIC. The Panthers and the Flames have met on 18 other occasions with the latest coming in a 73-57 victory for the Panthers in March of 2023. In that matchup, four Panthers scored in double-figures where Grace Boffeli scored 23, Emerson Green scored 11, and both Rachael Heittola and Cailyn Morgan scored 10 points.
UNI is coming off a pair of victories inside the McLeod Center with an 82-52 victory over Evansville and an 85-79 victory over Indiana State. In the Indiana State matchup, four Panthers recorded double-digit points with Maya McDermott leading the way with 20 points, Emerson Green tallying a season-high 18, Kayba Laube adding to an impressive weekend with 16 points, and Shateah Wetering netting 14 points. The two-game homestand marked the second time all season that the Panthers had played back-to-back home games and the first time since the first and second games of the season against Green Bay and Iowa.
UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference with a league-low 12.2 turnovers per game. That mark is 14th-best nationally. Guard Maya McDermott is 40 points away from being the 27th Panther to cross the 1,00-point threshold and the 10th in the Tanya Warren era. McDermott leads the conference and ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage. Her 93.9% from the line has seen 31 of her 33 attempts fall. She is a perfect 15-for-15 when playing inside the McLeod Center. McDermott also leads the league with three assists per turnover. This is the eighth-best mark in the nation as well.
UNI added to its streak of games with a three-pointer against Indiana State making eight threes. Their streak is now at 492 consecutive games with a three-pointer dating back to December 6, 2008. Head coach Tanya Warren continues to move closer to MVC history with each win. She needs just seven more conference victories to overtake the top spot for MVC coaching wins.
UIC is coming off a buzzer-beating, 51-50 loss to Missouri State. That game saw junior forward Makiyah Williams lead the UIC offense with 13 points. She was one of three Flames in double-figures with Jaida McCloud finishing with 12 points and Keimari Rimmer recording 11. Both McCloud and Rimmer finished with double-doubles with 10 rebounds a piece. Williams leads the Flames’ offense with 12.8 points per game.
As a team, UIC is among the top teams in the conference this season, ranked third in assists per game (16.9), second in bench points per game (28.2), and third in offensive rebounds per game (13.1). Junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia leads the Flames with 61 assists this season, ranked second in the conference, and 4.4 assists per game, ranked third in the conference. UIC has out-rebounded its opponent in 12 of their 14 contests and has yet to be out-rebounded by an MVC foe.
UNI (3-9 / 2-1 MVC) at UIC (8-6 / 1-2 MVC)
7 p.m. CT | Jan. 12
Chicago, Ill. | Credit Union 1 Arena
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play)
