CARBONDALE, Illinois — UNI women’s basketball traveled to Carbondale, Illinois to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis on Friday evening. The Panthers took control early and never let off the gas, taking home an 84-59 victory inside the Banterra Center.
The Panthers opened the matchup with an 11-3 run including three three-pointers. UNI continued to dominate with a 9-4 run to extend the Panther lead to 13-7 before five straight free throws from SIU cut the UNI lead to eight at 20-12. The Panthers recorded six more points to close the first quarter with a 26-14 lead.
The Salukis opened the second quarter with a six-point run to cut UNI’s lead to single digits. The two teams recorded nine points apiece down the stretch of the second quarter which saw a 30-second timeout called by SIU with UNI on top 35-31 with just over a minute left in the first half. UNI drained a bucket with thirty seconds left to take a 37-31 lead heading into halftime. Maya McDermott and Ryley Goebel led the Panthers’ scoring effort at halftime with nine points each.
It was all Panthers in the third quarter with a five-point run to open the quarter, a seven-point run in the middle, and a five-point run at the end in a quarter that was Panther-dominated at 22-13. UNI held a 59-44 lead heading into the final frame after a quarter that saw 10 points from Maya McDermott on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor.
The fourth quarter saw another dominant performance from the Panther offense with UNI finishing the matchup with a 25-15 quarter. The final frame saw a seven-point run from Emerson Green early in the quarter. UNI took home an 84-59 victory over the Salukis. Maya McDermott led the Panthers with 21 points. She added four assists and three rebounds to her total. Ryley Goebel and Shateah Wetering were the other Panthers in double figures with 15 points each. Goebel finished with seven rebounds.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 10-9 on the season and 5-3 in conference play with an 84-59 victory over SIU. The Panthers recorded their 50th all-time victory over the Salukis, improving to 50-35 in the series.
UNI continued an active program-record 550-game three-pointer streak that started December 6, 2008, versus Green Bay (6-of-19) following a 0-of-14 outing from behind the three-point arc December 3, 2008, against Northern Illinois. The Panthers knocked down nine threes against Southern Illinois to continue the streak.
Kayba Laube hit her 250th career three-pointer against the Salukis. She is the program’s 3rd to eclipse 250 career threes.
Maya McDermott finished with 21 points, her 18th double-figure performance of the season. Her third three-pointer ties her for no. 5 all-time in threes with Nicole Clausen (2006-10) with 206.
Ryley Goebel became UNI’s fourth-leading blocker in program history passing Carol Hogen (1981-83). Goebel’s two blocks against SIU gave her 123 career blocks.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their road stand with a matchup at Missouri State on Sunday, January 26. Tipoff inside the Great Southern Bank Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The matchup can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.