Northern Iowa women’s basketball beats UIC in Missouri Valley Tournament quarterfinals

MOLINE, Sick. — Methodically however effectively, Northern Iowa ladies’s basketball shook free from a pesky UIC squad to advance to Saturday’s convention semifinals.

Seven groups had already been eradicated from the Missouri Valley Convention Event by the point third-seeded UNI took the courtroom Friday night time, however the Panthers hardly regarded bothered by the lengthy wait. UNI clawed its solution to a 73-57 win over the No. 6 seed Flames at Vibrant Enviornment.

With the victory, the Panthers (22-8) will face No. 2 seed Belmont in Saturday’s 4 p.m. semifinal. A win there and UNI will return to the Hoops within the Heartland title sport for the second straight 12 months.

“I believed our children did a terrific job of staying true to our gameplan over a 40-minute span,” UNI coach Tanya Warren stated. “However you have to tip your hat to UIC. They performed a really, excellent basketball sport.”

The Panthers first discovered important separation halfway via the third quarter, utilizing a 7-0 surge to seize a 47-36 lead with 4:08 remaining within the interval. UNI rode that cushion all the way in which with little disruption, apart from a short UIC push early within the fourth.

Enjoying simply down the street from her hometown of Eldridge, UNI’s Grace Boffeli led the Panthers with 23 factors and eight rebounds whereas capturing 10-for-15. She obtained double-digit scoring help from Emerson Inexperienced (11 factors), Rachael Heittola (10 factors) and Cailyn Morgan (10 factors) as effectively.

The Panthers and Flames traded blows all through a seesawing first half, which UNI largely managed however didn’t have a lead bigger than six till the ultimate three minutes of the half. A ten-0 run that includes two Boffeli buckets and treys from Inexperienced and Morgan moved the Panthers from down one to up 9 in a five-minute span.

That surge propelled UNI into halftime with a 35-30 lead. From there, the Panthers locked in defensively and by no means let UIC rip off a game-changing run. The Flames shot simply 31% from the sphere whereas mustering only one discipline aim over the ultimate seven minutes.

Now the Panthers flip to Belmont, which swept UNI throughout the common season with a 67-61 win in Cedar Falls on Jan. 8 and an 82-77 victory in Nashville on Feb. 23. The Panthers will hope for a defensive effort like the primary matchup and an offensive effort just like the second.            

“They’re an excellent workforce, well-coached,” Warren stated. “They clearly swept us this 12 months. Each video games have been very, excellent basketball video games.

“They’ve the most effective gamers within the league in (first-team all-MVC guard Destinee) Wells. She’s a handful. You noticed what she was in a position to do (with 34 factors within the quarterfinals). However not solely can she rating, she does a terrific job of getting different individuals concerned. What we now have to have the ability to do, we will let her get 30 (factors) and 15 assists. So we will have to choose our poison and blend up what we’re attempting to do defensively.”

Dargan Southard is a sports activities trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Electronic mail him at msouthard@gannett.com.