CEDAR FALLS – UNI welcomed the Drake Bulldogs to the McLeod Center for a Saturday night matchup. The Bulldogs got out to a hot start early which the Panthers looked to overcome down the stretch. Drake held off the UNI storm through the final minutes of the matchup and took home a 79-71 victory.
The Bulldogs struck first which was followed by a layup from Grace Boffeli shortly thereafter to tie the contest at two. Drake went on a 15-point run to break the first quarter open and lead 17-2 early in the frame. A free throw from Grace Boffeli ended the Drake run. Back-and-forth buckets down the stretch were capped off with a seven-point, Panther run to close the gap and bring Drake down to a 10-point lead at 22-12 at the end of the first quarter. The run included a jumper from Grace Boffeli, a three-pointer from Emerson Green, and a pair of free throws from Maya McDermott.
The second quarter opened with a jump shot from Emerson Green before a seven-point run from the Bulldogs. A three-pointer from McDermott was answered by a Drake three before a 7-3 run from UNI saw the Drake lead cut to 11 at 35-24. Back-to-back buckets from Drake pushed the lead out big for the Bulldogs before a 10-3 Panther run which included back-to-back threes from Maya McDermott to head into halftime with a score of 42-34 in favor of Drake.
Out of the break, Grace Boffeli scored a put-back layup which was followed by a Drake layup. A three-pointer from Kayba Laube was followed by a five-point Bulldog run to take a 10-point lead over the Panthers at 49-39. UNI and Drake traded three-pointers before another five-point BUlldog run took the teams into the third quarter media timeout with Drake out in front by a score of 57-43.
Out of the media timeout, Ryley Goebel knocked down back-to-back layups which were followed by an and-one layup from Maya McDermott and a jump shot from Taryn Wharton to cut the Bulldog lead to eight at 52-60. Drake held a 5-2 advantage in the final minutes of the third quarter and the teams headed into the final frame with a score of 65-54 in favor of the Bulldogs.
A layup from Shateah Wetering opened the fourth quarter for the Panthers before Drake answered with their own layup. A five-point Panther run cut the Drake lead to six points before a layup from the Bulldogs ended the run. Back-to-back three-pointers from the Panthers cut the lead back to six points after back-to-back threes from Drake before a four-point Bulldog run to close the game after a layup from McDermott.
Maya McDermott led the Panthers with 19 points. She added six rebounds and three steals. Grace Boffeli was the other lone Panther in double-figures with 17 points. She added nine rebounds to her total.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI dropped the 98th meeting of these two squads and fell to 27-71 in the series after the 79-71 victory by Drake.
Maya McDermott remains perfect in conference play as well as inside the McLeod Center after going 3-for-3 from the free throw line against Drake. She has now made all 25 free throws in conference play and all 24 she has taken in the McLeod Center.
Grace Boffeli finished the matchup with nine rebounds. She now claims the no. 6 spot on UNI’s all-time rebound list, passing Erin Brocka (2007-11), Lizzie Boeck (2007-11), and Amy Swisher (200-04) in the game against Drake.
UP NEXT
The Panthers stay home for two more matchups, the first of which comes on February 8 when the Panthers rematch the Illinois State Redbirds for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.