CEDAR FALLS – UNI women’s basketball heads to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Tournament November 28-30. The Panthers will take on the Auburn Tigers, the Kansas Jayhawks, and the Pittsburgh Panthers. This will be the first meeting between UNI and both Auburn and Pittsburgh and the fifth meeting between UNI and Kansas. The Paradise Jam Island Tournament includes six games. Game one features Pitt vs. Kansas and game two is between the Panthers and Auburn. Game three kicks off Friday action with Auburn vs. Pitt with Kansas vs. UNI in game four. Games five and six round out the weekend on Saturday with UNI vs. Pitt in game five and Auburn and Kansas facing off in the final game of the weekend.
UNI is coming off an 87-75 victory over no. 8 Iowa State last week. In that game, Maya McDermott led UNI with 37 points. She added four assists and three steals to her total. Kayba Laube was the other lone Panther in double figures with 21 points on 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. The victory was UNI’s first top-10 victory in program history.
Maya McDermott recorded a new career high of 37 points against the Cyclones on a career-high 14 made field goals. Elise Jaeger recorded multiple career highs including field goals made (3), three-pointers (3), points (9), and assists (3). Kayba Laube set a new career high with six made free throws. The 5,304 attendance figure is the McLeod Center’s largest for a women’s basketball game since last season’s matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes. (6,650).
The Panthers lead the league with a team field goal percentage of 48.8%. That mark is the 22nd-best in the nation. They also lead the MVC in scoring offense (81.8), scoring margin (16), three-point percentage (40.2), turnover margin (4.25), and turnovers per game (13.5). Maya McDermott’s 3.67 assists per turnover is the second-best mark in the Valley and 16th-best in the nation. She also leads the league with the nation’s second-most points per game (26). Kayba Laube and Maya McDermott are no. 1 and 2 in the league with three-point percentages of 50% and 48% respectively. They are also no. 2 and 3 in total three-pointers (13/12) and three-pointers per game (3.25/3). Ryley Goebel has recorded 3.25 steals per game. That mark is the best in the conference and 30th in the nation.
After her performance against no. 8 Iowa State, Maya McDermott was named the MVC Player of the Week, the US Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week, and the AP Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week Runner-Up. It is the first set of weekly awards for the Panthers this season and the first time a Panther has been named the USBWA or AP Player of the Week in program history.
UNI (3-1 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Auburn (3-2 / 0-0 SEC)
2 p.m. CT | November 28, 2024
Elridge Blake Sports & Fitness Center | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network
UNI (3-1 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Kansas (4-1 / 0-0 Big 12)
2 p.m. CT | November 29, 2024
Elridge Blake Sports & Fitness Center | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network
UNI (3-1 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Pittsburgh (5-1 / 0-0 ACC)
11:30 a.m. CT | November 30, 2024
Elridge Blake Sports & Fitness Center | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
ESPN+
Panther Sports Radio Network