PEORIA, Ill. — UNI women’s basketball finished off its weekend in Illinois with a matchup at Bradley. The Panthers dominated the first half against the Braves with an unstoppable shooting performance and didn’t let up into the second half, finishing just shy of the program’s single-game field goal percentage record.
The Panthers opened the matchup on a quick 8-2 run which forced a timeout from Bradley early. UNI continued to roll as they went on a 10-point run after a Bradley three-pointer which saw back-to-back threes from Kayba Laube and Maya McDermott which forced a second early timeout from the Braves.
A layup and a pair of free throws from Bradley was followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Emerson Green to push the Panther lead to 17 points at 28-11. Grace Boffeli recorded the last six points of the first frame for UNI to hold a 34-11 lead into the second quarter.
Bradley opened the second quarter with its 13th point of the contest on a layup before a three-pointer from Emerson Green. Back-to-back buckets from the Braves cut the Panther lead to 20 points before trading baskets with UNI which ended with a seven-point run from Bradley. The stretch cut the Northern Iowa lead to 16 points at 42-26.
A 13-point, Panther run saw three three-pointers drop for UNI to regain and extend their large lead out to 29 points at 55-26. The squads traded buckets down the stretch before Rachael Heittola closed the second quarter with a bang on a buzzer-beating three-pointer to hold a 30-point lead at 60-30 at halftime.
The Braves opened the second half with a layup before Shateah Wetering drained a three-pointer to continue the hot performance for the Panthers from beyond the arc. A layup from Emerson Green was followed by a five-point Braves run which was ended by three straight layups from the Panthers to take a 34-point lead at 73-39. Back-and-forth baskets from both squads including a pair of 18-foot jump shots from Taryn Wharton saw UNI on top by a score of 81-50 with only the fourth quarter left to play.
It was all Panthers in the final frame at Bradley with a 15-1 run to open the fourth quarter. The run included a pair of three-pointers from Kayba Laube and back-to-back layups from Ryley Goebel. A Braves three-pointer ended the streak. The matchup finished with some sparks off the bench when Katy Reyerson sank a three-pointer, Bri Robinson drained a jumper, and Emily Holterhaus sank a layup to close the Braves out by a score of 105-59.
Grace Boffeli led the UNI offense with 24 points in her 22 minutes of action. She shot 78.6% from the floor (11-of-14) and finished just one rebound shy of her fourth straight double-double with nine rebounds. Emerson Green, Kayba Laube, and Rachael Heittola were the other three Panthers in double-figures with Green finishing 6-of-8 from the floor with 16 points, Laube going 5-for-7 from deep with 15 total points, and Heittola tallying 11 points on a 3-for-4 afternoon.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI won their 50th contest against the Braves and now leads the series with a record of 50-37.
The Panthers scored 34 points in the first quarter of action against Bradley. That mark is the highest in a quarter this season and the highest in an opening frame at a road contest in program history.
UNI’s 60 points at halftime was a Renaissance Coliseum record.
The Panthers recorded the program’s sixth 100+-point performance. They scored the most points since a 110-34 victory against Graceland in the 2021-22 season.
The 46-point margin is the largest margin of victory for the Panthers in a conference matchup since a 48-point victory over Evansville in the 2020-21 season.
Northern Iowa recorded 42 field goals in the matchup. That is a new program record which was previously 41 in both a 1983 game against UIC and a 1981 game against Marycrest.
The victory was UNI’s 700th program win.
UP NEXT
The Panthers take on the UIC Flames in a rescheduled matchup on January 31. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT tip and can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
