Feb. 7, 2008

Final Stats

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -

            University of Northern Iowa sophomore Nicole Clausen hit a three with 34 seconds remaining to put the Panthers in front of Illinois State, helping the Panthers hold on for a 64-62 win in the McLeod Center Thursday night. The Panthers (8-13, 4-6) trailed the league-leading Redbirds (18-3, 8-2) 62-60 when Clausen drained her fifth three of the night to put UNI in front for good. Freshman Erin Brocka hit a free throw with six seconds left to seal the win for UNI.

            Clausen finished 5-of-7 from three-point range to lead all scorers with a career-high 21 points. Senior Traci Ollendieck finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for the Panthers.

            Kristi Cirone led the Redbirds with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ashleen Bracey notched a double-double for ISU with 15 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots.

            The Panthers led by as many as 10 points in the first half, taking a 26-16 lead on a layup from Clausen with 4:40 left in the period.  ISU outscored UNI 10-2 through the rest of the half to trim UNI's halftime lead to 28-26.

            UNI scored the first seven points of the second period to build a 35-26 with 18:45 to play. Cirone hit a three and Nicolle Lewis made a layup to pull the Redbirds within four, 35-31.

            Jacqui Kalin knocked down a jumper for the Panthers to return UNI's lead to six, but Illinois State continued to chip away at the UNI advantage, and with 15:39 left, Cirone connected on a pair of free throws that brought the score to 39-36 in favor of UNI.

            Twenty seconds later, Bracey connected on a jump shot to cut the Panther lead to one, 39-38 with 15:17 to play.

            Alexa Mennen and Lewis traded baskets, and Clausen made one of two free-throw attempts to put the Panthers in front, 42-40. Bracey was sent to the line where she made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 42-42 with 12:19 remaining.

            A basket by Ollendieck was matched at the other end by Bracey to keep the score knotted, 44-44. On UNI's next possession, Ollendieck was fouled as she hit a layup, and the made free-throw gave the Panthers a 47-44 edge with 11:11 to play.

            The lead was short-lived, however, as Maggie Krick drained a three with 10:47 on the clock to tie the game at 47-47.

            Brocka hit one of two free throws to put UNI up by one, and Clausen hit a three with 8:12 remaining to give the Panthers a 51-47 advantage.

            Cirone scored six straight points for the Redbirds, and UNI could only counter with a bucket from Mennen, and the teams found themselves tied at 53-53 at the six-minute mark.

            Brocka returned the lead to UNI, 56-53, with a three from the top of the key at 5:41. Shala Jackson scored at the other end to trim the Panther lead to one, but Lizzie Boeck saw Kristin Iehl cutting to the basket, and her layup kept the UNI lead at three, 58-55 with 4:18 to play.

            Just 20 seconds later, Brooke Singleton knocked down a three to tie the score at 58-58. UNI came up empty-handed on its next possession, and Lewis hit a pair of free throws with 3:03 on the clock to put ISU in front 60-58 and give the Redbirds their first lead since leading 9-7.

            Mennen hit a jump shot on an assist from Brocka to tie the game at 60-60 at the two-minute mark. Bracey committed a turnover, but UNI could not convert, giving the Redbirds the ball with a chance to take the lead inside the final minute.

            With 49 seconds remaining, Cirone hit a jump shot that put ISU in front 62-60. Clausen came off a screen to hit a three and return the lead to UNI, 63-62.

            Cirone's shot attempt with 24 seconds left did not fall, but ISU grabbed the rebound to retain possession for the game's final shot. A shot by Jackson would not fall, and neither did a put-back attempt by Singleton with seven seconds left. Brocka came up with the rebound, and she was fouled in the process to put her at the line for one-and-one.

            The freshman hit the first to give UNI a two-point cushion. Her second attempt rimmed out, but Cirone's last-second attempt did not fall to give the Panthers the win.

            UNI shot 23-of-54 (43 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-21 (38 percent) from three-point range. The Panthers were 10-of-16 (63 percent) from the free-throw line.

            Illinois State finished 19-of-59 (32 percent) from the floor, including 4-of-14 (29 percent) from behind the arc. The Redbirds were 20-of-22 (91 percent) from the free-throw line.

            The Panthers committed 11 turnovers while dishing out 15 assists. Illinois State finished with 10 turnover and 11 assists. ISU also came up with eight blocked shots on the night.

            The Redbirds outrebounded UNI, 43-31.

            The Panthers return to action on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. when they host Indiana State.