CEDAR FALLS – UNI women’s basketball hosted the Murray State Racers on Friday, January 23 in a rematch of UNI’s first conference loss two weeks ago. The Panthers dominated the court from tipoff to the final whistle and handed Murray State their first loss of the MVC slate, 89-74.
Elise Jaeger recorded seven of UNI’s first nine points, including a three-pointer, to open the matchup as the Panthers picked up a 13-6 lead early in the first quarter. Murray State cut the Panther lead to one point last in the frame with a seven-point run before back-to-back buckets from UNI gave the Cats a five-point lead at 24-19 after 10 minutes on the court.
A 12-2 Panther run to open the second quarter saw four different point scorers for the Cats to extend the Panther lead to 15 points at 36-21 early in the frame. The Racers held a 13-6 advantage the rest of the way through the second quarter, but the Panthers remained on top after 20 minutes of action with a 42-34 halftime score.
At the break, Bri Robinson led the Panthers with 11 points. Elise Jaeger had nine points and four boards while Taryn Wharton recorded seven points in the first half.
Murray State netted the first four buckets of the second half and cut the Panther lead to two points at 45-43 with a 9-3 run out of the gate before a three-pointer from Ryley Goebel stopped the bleeding for UNI. The Cats hit three straight threes, one from each of Ryley Goebel, Jenna Twedt, and Kaylynn Janes, to extend their lead back to nine just over halfway through the third quarter. Lauren Walker scored the next five Panther points and the Cats closed the third frame with five straight to hold a 12-point advantage after three quarters at 64-52.
The final frame was an offensive slug fest as the Panthers shot 100% from deep (3-for-3) and 72.7% from the floor (8-for-11) to put the Racers to bed and come home with an 89-74 victory inside the McLeod Center. Jenna Twedt scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
Jenna Twedt led UNI with 20 points, including three three-pointers. Taryn Wharton, Kaylynn Janes, Bri Robinson, and Lauren Walker were the other Panthers in double figures with 15, 15, 11 and 10 points respectively. Elise Jaeger finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and six assists to go along with three steals.
[Our bench was] big,” said head coach Tanya Warren. “We talked a lot about the productivity from our bench and they did a terrific job of staying within themselves! Doing what they do and allowing ball movement and off-ball movement to get them open. Just a terrific job from our bench.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 10-8 on the season and 6-2 in MVC play with their seventh all-time victory over the Racers.
The Panthers continued an active program-record 564-game three-pointer streak with 13 triples against the Racers.
Jenna Twedt tied a career-high with 20 points and made a career-high seven field goals.
Lauren Walker had a career game against the Racers with 10 points, four field goals, and two three-pointers, all career highs.
UP NEXT
The Panthers get to stay home and will face the Evansville Purple Aces on Sunday, January 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.