CEDAR FALLS – The UNI women’s basketball team found itself in a competitive back-and-forth Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) contest on Saturday afternoon, but struggled to slow down the Belmont Bruins in the final frame in a 70-58 loss inside the McLeod Center.
Northern Iowa’s three-point shooting performance produced six triples in the first half and saw its defense force eight Belmont turnovers, but was unable to stop the Bruins’ offense in the final frame.
Elise Jaeger got the Panthers on the board with an early three-point basket, the first of four triples by UNI in the opening frame. Jenna Twedt would add three-pointers on back-to-back possessions as the Bruins attacked from inside the paint and from mid-range to lead 16-14 after ten minutes.
Ryley Goebel took control for Northern Iowa in the second frame inside the paint with six of the Panthers’ 14 points. UNI’s defense would force five turnovers with Virginia Edmondson and Twedt each knocking down one triple each to give UNI a 28-23 lead before Belmont closed on an 8-0 run to take a 31-28 lead into halftime on the Panthers.
Kaylynn Janes and Jager would knock down three additional triples for Northern Iowa in the third period as the Panthers kept pace with the high powered Bruins, who knocked down six-of-ten shot attempts. Four turnovers would cost UNI as Belmont stretched its lead to eight points to end the period ahead 48-40.
Goebel would shine again with a nine point four quarter, but the Bruins would find their stride in the final ten minutes shooting 72.7% from the field. Despite UNI forcing five Belmont turnovers, the Panthers would be unable to close the gap as the Bruins stretched their lead over UNI to as many as 16 points, holding off the Panthers for the 12-point win.
Goebel and Twedt finished the afternoon with a team-high 15 points each, while Janes tallied nine points on three made triples. Taryn Wharton posted six points in the loss as Jager posted a game-high 11 rebounds and team-high four assists along with five points. Edmondson also added five points with Lauren Walker scoring three points.
“This has been by far our toughest stretch of the season, now we have to figure out getting some rest and getting back to work tomorrow and Monday and get ourselves back in the win column against Indiana State,” said head coach Tanya Warren. “As we’ve learned in this league, it’s going to be learning to pay attention to the details. We defended very well, but we need to get our offense figured out too, and we will.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI falls to 1-9 all-time against the Bruins in the all-time series.
The Panthers continued an active program-record 569-game three-pointer streak with nine triples against the Bruins.
Ryley Goebel tied Carol Hogen (1981-82) with her 56th block of the season, tied for seventh-most in a single-season in Panther history.
Elise Jager’s 11 rebounds on Saturday moved her within two boards of tying Allison Starr (1999-00) for tenth on UNI’s single-season rebounding list. Jager has recorded 234 total rebounds in her sophomore season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 12 against the Indiana State Sycamores. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 FM Corn Country).