From UNI Athletics
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The women’s basketball team made history in Rockford as they rolled past the St. Louis Billikens on Monday night with a 58-50 win and claimed their first Regional Championship in the WNIT.
The Panthers trailed the Billikens by one-point at halftime but that wouldn’t last long in the latter part of the game. UNI and St. Louis traded leads early in the third quarter until Bre Gunnels made a layup with 6:01 remaining to kickstart the Panther’s offense for the remainder of the game.
Gunnels made a pair of free-throws and Kayba Laube added a layup creating a four-point lead. Karli Rucker and Kam Finley added three-pointers to end the third quarter with the Panthers leading, 36-28.
Finley started the fourth quarter off with a pair of three-pointers extending the Panthers to a 12-point lead. She would finish the game with a team-high 14 points, nine in the final quarter alone and 3-3 from behind the three-point line.
Gunnels ended the night with another double-double added on to her career. She recorded 10 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a new career-high five blocks in the regional championship game of the WNIT.
Ciaja Harbison held the game-high 18 points and grabbed two steals on the night for St. Louis. Harbison recorded 61.1% (11-18) of her points in the fourth quarter as well. Brooke Flowers helped Harbison and recorded 16 points of her own and 17 rebounds for a double-double. St. Louis shot 90.9% (10-11) from the charity stripe and recorded 26 points in the paint.
This is the first time the Panthers will travel to the Final Four of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The farthest the Panthers have gotten was back in 2016, where they reached the Regional Championship. Monday night’s game also marks the lowest scoring game by UNI since the 2016 Regional Championship where the Panthers scored 50 points.
The Panthers travel to Memphis, Tn. to play Ole Miss in the Semifinals of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the My Town Movers Fieldhouse with pregame at 6:45 p.m. on KXEL.
GAME NOTES:
– The Panthers claim their first Regional Championship title in the WNIT in program history.
– This game was the lowest scoring game for the Panthers in the WNIT this season.
– Bre Gunnels records third double-double of the season and fifth of her career and a new career-high five blocks.
– Kam Finley led the Panthers with 14 points.
– Megan Maahs recorded 10 rebounds and moves her career total to 874.
