UNI was led by junior Amber Sorenson, who scored a career-high 23 points after knocking down seven three pointers. Madison Weekly also chipped in 19 points with Stephanie Davison adding 14.
Bradley was able to jump out to a 7-5 lead after Danielle Brewer drained a three-pointer at the 15:56 mark in the first half. The Braves forced UNI to a 3:00 scoring drought, shooting 0-of-8 from the field. UNI was then able to gain momentum heading into the second media timeout of the game when Davison hit a trey to tie the score 11-11.
UNI held an eight-point lead with 7:40 on the clock after going on a 10-0 run, sparked by a set of three-pointers from Sorenson and Brittni Donaldson. Bradley answered though after they were able to make it a three-point game, going 4-of-5 from the field to make the score 28-25 with less than five minutes to play.
Thanks to another run by the Panthers, UNI headed into halftime with 34-29 lead. Weekly and Sorenson combined for UNI’s final six points which included a final second trey from Sorenson to give UNI the five-point cushion.
The Panthers extended its lead to 10 points early in the second half when they jumped out to a 42-32 lead. UNI continued to excel from deep, with Sorenson draining her sixth three of the game to give UNI a 48-38 lead with 13:35 left to play.
Bradley made it a five-point game by going 5-for-7 from the field to make the score 51-46 with 8:42 on the clock, but back-to-back threes from Sorenson and Weekly put UNI back up 59-50. The Braves were then able to cut the UNI lead to 68-65, continuing to put pressure on the UNI defense.
The Panthers stayed focused on the court and at the line for the remainder of the game. With the combination of clutch free throws from Davison, Brooke Brown and Sharnae Lamar, the Panthers pulled out its 74-68 win.
UNI is set to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis on Friday, March 13 in the first round of the MVC Tournament. The game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
