TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – UNI women’s basketball traveled to Indiana State to play their last regular-season, weekday game at Indiana State. The Sycamores got off to a hot start before the Panthers took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back taking home a 91-62 victory over the Sycamores.
Indiana State jumped out to a quick lead in the opening minutes of play after a 10-point run following a game-opening layup from Shateah Wetering. The Sycamore run was ended by Maya McDermott who recorded the next six Panther points. A pair of Indiana State baskets and a layup from Taryn Wharton saw a 14-10 lead in favor of the Sycamores at the first-quarter media timeout.
Out of the break, Ryley Goebel recorded back-to-back layups to tie that matchup. An Indiana State three-pointer was followed by a floater from Taryn Wharton to end the first quarter. The Sycamores held a one-point lead at 17-16 after 10 minutes of play.
McDermott recorded the first five points of the second quarter with a three-pointer and a layup to give UNI a 21-17 lead. The Sycamores responded with a three before a 7-2 run from the Panthers which ended in a media timeout and a UNI lead of 28-22. The run saw a three-pointer from Cailyn Morgan.
The Panthers continued their run out of the media timeout with three points to take a 31-22 lead. Four Indiana State points cut the UNI lead to five points before back-to-back three-pointers from Maya McDermott for the Panthers’ first double-digit lead at 37-26. Each team scored one more basket before halftime with UNI in front by a score of 39-28 at the halftime break.
Indiana State opened the second half with a layup before an answer from Shateah Wetering. The next Panther bucket came on a three-pointer from Kayba Laube, her first points of the ballgame. The Sycamores recorded a layup before an and-one bucket from Grace Boffeli gave UNI a 13-point lead at 47-34. Cailyn Morgan hit a three after a free throw from Indiana State to take the teams into the third-quarter media timeout.
Out of the break, an Indiana State layup was followed by another McDermott three-pointer before the floating media timeout of the second half. Kayba Laube knocked down another three for the Panthers before a four-point run from the Sycamores. The teams battled evenly down the third-quarter stretch and headed into the fourth quarter with a Panther lead at 67-49.
UNI dominated the third quarter with a 24-13 performance to seal the deal. The fourth quarter saw eight points from Taryn Wharton on 3-of-4 shooting and 1-for-1 from beyond the arc.
The UNI offense was led by Maya McDermott. She tallied 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting and 5-for-8 from downtown. She was also 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Taryn Wharton, Kayba Laube, and Grace Boffeli were the other three Panthers in double-figures with 14, 12, and 10 points respectively. Boffeli finished with 11 rebounds.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI tied the series record with the Sycamores at 42-42 with the 91-62 victory.
With the victory, Tanya Warren is now second on the MVC’s all-time wins list with 320 overall wins. She passed Cheryl Burnett (Missouri State 1988-02) with 319. Next on the list is the no. 1 spot occupied by Cindy Scott (Southern Illinois 1983-98) with 353 overall victories.
Maya McDermott’s 25-point performance was her ninth 20+-point performance of the season. She continues to lead the nation with a 95.5% free throw percentage (71-for-74) after going 2-for-2 from the stripe tonight.
Kayba Laube recorded four three-pointers in the matchup. She passed Kam Finely (2018-23) for the no.9 spot and sits with 175. She is now six shy of tying Nicole Kroeger (2017-22) for the no. 8 spot with 181 career threes made.
Grace Boffeli recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Indiana State. She is now 7 double-doubles away from tying Alex Cook (2001-05) for UNI’s top spot with 41 double-doubles.
UP NEXT
The Panthers close the regular season with a matchup at Evansville. Tipoff against the Purple Aces is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
