March 13, 2008

Box Score

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -

            The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team used 50-percent shooting from the floor, and 11-of-22 shooting from three-point range to score a season-high 75 points in a 75-45 win over Wichita State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night in Family Arena.

            Jacqui Kalin led UNI with 19 points, and Nicole Clausen shot 4-of-7 from three-point range on the way to 18 points. Erin Brocka notched her third career double-double with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds.

            Jacqui Kalin hit threes on consecutive possessions, and she scored the Panthers' first eight points to help the Panthers take an early 8-2 lead. At 15:33 Erin Brocka hit a three from the top of the key to put the Panthers in front, 11-2. Marcy Sudbeck scored for WSU, but Alexa Mennen connected from the block to keep the Panther lead at nine points, 13-4 with 13:44 left in the first half.

            With the Panthers leading 15-8, Nicole Clausen hit a pair of threes to stretch UNI's lead to 21-8 with 10:02 on the clock. A pair of free throws from Kalin and a long jumper from Brocka put the Panthers in front 25-8 with 8:48 left in the first half.

            Kiki Stephens connected on a three-point play for WSU, but the Panthers scored six points in 50 seconds to extend their lead to 31-11 with 6:21 remaining in the half.

            Stephens scored for the Shockers, but then UNI rattled off nine straight points to take build a 40-13 advantage with 1:34 left in the half. The Panthers would go on to take a 43-15 lead into the break.

            The Panthers shot 52 percent (15-of-29) from the floor, while holding the Shockers to a 17-percent (6-of-34) performance in the first period. UNI was 6-of-11 (55 percent) from three-point range in the first period.

            Wichita State scored first in the second half, but the Panthers scored on four straight possessions, including a pair of threes by Clausen and another by Kalin to give the Panthers a 54-19 lead with 16:46 remaining.

            The Shockers went on a 10-0 run to narrow the gap to 54-29 in favor of UNI. Lizzie Boeck scored with 13:20 on the clock to end the Shocker run. A Shocker three made it a 24-point game, but the Panthers did not allow WSU to get any closer, leading by as many as 34 and at least 25 points the rest of the way.

            The Panthers return to action on Friday at 6:05 p.m. when they play second-seeded Evansville in the quarterfinals.