UNI WBB Ties For Lead in MVC With 89-70 Win Over Illinois State

The University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball team picked up its sixth win in a row to, beating the Illinois State Redbirds 89-70 to tie for first in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Panthers are now 17-11 and 13-4 in MVC play.

Jen Keitel led the Panthers with 23 points and nine rebounds while Madison Weekly chipped in 16 points and five rebounds. Brittni Donaldson and Stephanie Davison also reached double figures with Davison scoring all 12 of her points in the second half.

The Panthers jumped out to a 9-6 lead heading into the first media timeout with three different players for UNI draining baskets in the first five minutes of the game. After UNI took a five point lead, Octavia Crump found her way into the lane for a layup to cut the lead back to down to three, making the score 17-14 with 10:49 left in the half.

Illinois State was able to take the Panther lead down to four points after Katy Winge hit a long jump to make the score 24-20, but UNI answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Donaldson and Weekly to make it a 10 points lead with 6:29 left to play in the half.

UNI headed into halftime with a 42-35 lead on the Redbirds. The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field in the first half with Donaldson, Keitel and Weekly all reaching double figures in just the first half.

UNI extended their lead to 13 points with 15:58 left in the second half when Davison snuck into the lane for a layup, was fouled and converted on both of her free throws to make the score 53-40. Illinois State was able to cut UNI’s lead back down to 11 points after making two free throws of their own, but was unable to bring it within single digits for the remainder of the game.

Davison scored 12 points in the second half, including a quick layup after a sly pass from Weekly to make the score 87-66. Moran Lonning scored the Panthers’ last points of the games with two free throws, giving UNI’s its 89-70 win over the Redbirds.

Post-Game Notes vs. Illinois State

UNI scored 89 points against the Redbirds. It is the highest final point total in a game this season that didn’t go into overtime.
Jen Keitel scored in double figures for the third game in a row, pitching 23 points against Illinois State.
UNI had 11 players see action against the Redbirds with nine players scoring in the game. Three of the five starters reached double figures, while Madison Weekly led the bench with 16 points.
UNI is 13-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 24-1 during the Tanya Warren era when scoring 80 or more points.

Categories: Cedar Valley Sports, UNI Panthers