MOLINE, Ill. – UNI women’s basketball took on the top-seeded Drake Bulldogs in the semifinals of Hoops in the Heartland. Drake hopped out to a quick lead, but the Panthers were able to fight back and take the lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. A big three-pointer from Drake followed by a pair of free throws from UNI saw the score even at the end of 40 minutes and forced overtime. The Bulldogs separated in the overtime period and claimed a 92-83 victory.
Drake opened the matchup with a three-pointer before an answer from Kayba Laube to tie the game at 3-3 after the first two possessions. Drake added two points off of a layup before back-to-back buckets from Grace Boffeli gave UNI a two-point lead at 7-5. The Bulldogs answered with an 11-2 run to take a seven-point lead at 16-9. Shateah Wetering ended the run with a layup before a layup from Drake which took the teams into the first-quarter media timeout.
Out of the break, Wetering sank another layup before four points from Drake extended the Bulldog lead. Both teams added a pair of buckets in the final minutes of the first quarter which ended with Drake on top by a score of 26-17.
Back-to-back threes from the Panthers opened the second quarter with one from Maya McDermott and one from Kayba Laube to cut into the Drake lead. McDermott followed Laube’s three-pointer with a jump shot and a three-pointer to tie the ballgame at 28. A pair of Bulldog layups followed to give Drake a four-point edge before a steal and subsequent layup from McDermott cut the lead back to two points at 30-32. The Bulldogs finished the second quarter on an 11-7 run and held a six-point lead after the first 20 minutes of play with a score of 43-37 heading into the second half.
Grace Boffeli opened the third quarter with a jump shot before a three-pointer from Drake. That three-pointer was answered with a three from Kayba Laube. An 8-2 run from Drake put the Bulldogs up by 10 at 54-44. A three-pointer from Shateah Wetering ended the Drake run and cut into the lead. A pair of Panther layups from McDermott and Bri Robinson cut the Bulldog lead to five points at 56-51 heading into the third-quarter media timeout.
Out of the break, Taryn Wharton hit a pair of jump shots for UNI before a 5-2 run from Drake to close the third quarter with a nine-point lead at 66-57.
UNI opened the fourth quarter on a 13-3 run to take a 70-69 lead including a six-point run from Maya McDermott after an and-one layup and a three-pointer. Out of a media timeout, Drake nailed a three-pointer which was answered with a three from Maya McDermott. Another three-pointer from Drake put the Bulldogs ahead by two points at 75-73 before a pair of free throws from Grace Boffeli to end regulation tied 75-75.
In overtime, Drake opened with a 15-3 run to take a 90-78 lead. McDermott recorded the final five points for UNI in overtime with an and-one layup followed by a layup to close out the Panthers’ run in the MVC Tournament.
Maya McDermott led the Panther offense with 33 points. She added five assists. Grace Boffeli and Kayba Laube were the other two Panthers in double-figures with 16 and 14 points respectively. Boffeli added 13 rebounds to her total.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI dropped the 100th meeting between these two programs by a final score of 92-83 in overtime. The Panthers fall to 27-73 all-time against the Bulldogs.
Grace Boffeli finished with her 12th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. She is now five double-doubles away from tying Alex Cook (2001-05) for UNI’s top spot with 41 double-doubles.
Maya McDermott recorded her third 30+-point performance of the season with 33 points against Drake. It was also her 11th 20+-point performance of the season. She tied her career-high of 13 field goals in the matchup against Drake.
