From UNI Athletics
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Despite a strong second quarter, UNI Women’s basketball fell to Iowa 96-81 Wednesday evening in the season opener for both teams.
Kam Finley led the Panthers with 22 points. Four UNI players scored in double figures, and 10 Panthers scored in the game. Bre Gunnels led the Panthers with eight rebounds.
Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark was stellar in her career debut, leading all scorers with 27 points. Four other Iowa players scored in double figures.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a strong start using a 13-0 run to build a 19-4 lead with 4:16 to play in the first quarter. The Panthers battled back to cut the deficit to 24-14 at the quarter break.
In the second quarter, UNI went 4-8 from the three-point line and rallied to take a 36-35 lead with 4:19 in the quarter. The Hawkeyes closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 43-36 advantage into the break.
Finley scored 12 of her 22 points in the first half to lead UNI. She also added four rebounds before the break.
Iowa continued its scoring run in the third quarter with a 13-5 run to extend the lead to 56-40. The Hawkeyes did a lot of damage from the free-throw line in the third quarter, going 12-14 from the stripe. Iowa led 81-58 after three.
UNI outscored Iowa 23-16 in the fourth, but it would not be enough as the Hawkeyes earned the 15-point win.
The Panthers will be back in action Saturday in the home opener against Creighton at the McLeod Center. The game will be closed to general fans but will be heard with a radio call from Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1540 KXEL.
NOTES:
-Karli Rucker scored 12 points to move from 23rd all-time to 20th all-time on the UNI Women’s basketball all-time scoring list with 1,042 points. She hit a three-pointer with 4:16 to play in the third quarter to break a tie with Loretha Mosley and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder (Geske). She is now three points behind Cindy Harms for the 19th spot on the list.
-The Panthers are now 3-23 all-time against Iowa.
– In coach Tanya Warren’s 13+ seasons, this is just the fourth game that a UNI opponent has scored 95 or more points. The last was last year’s 104-87 loss to Drake.
– The Panthers’ 81 points are the second-most in any season opener for a Tanya Warren coached team, second only to last year’s 95 points in the win over North Dakota State.
– The Panther’s 81 points are the most points scored against Iowa in a loss. In the three wins against Iowa, UNI scored 83 (1975), 83 (2006) and 88 (2019).
