CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Both Northern Iowa and Indiana State had their starting forward and center foul out of a physical contest, but the Sycamores received a huge boost by senior Nikki Hall off the bench, who pulled down a key defensive rebound with just over two seconds left in the game to seal the 74-70 win. Hall, who was injured on the play, was replaced by sophomore Anne Thatcher who came in and calmly sank the two biggest free throws of her ISU career to put the Sycamores ahead by four and seal the victory. The Sycamores moved to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in the Valley while UNI dropped to 10-7, 4-2 in the Valley.

The Panthers were hot in the first half hitting 8-of-16 shots from the field while the Sycamores were only 9-of-27. In the second half Indiana State fired a sizzling 15-of-31 from the field while UNI slipped to 37 percent, connecting on just 10-of-27 shots. Indiana State scored 21 bench points while the Panthers tallied just ten from its non-starters.
 

The first half was a back and forth affair, with the teams exchanging leads on five different occasions. Strong post play from Cassie Hager, coupled with the effort from Emily Berry helped UNI take a 33-27 lead into the locker room. The Panthers lead reached as many as seven following a barrage of trips to the foul line by both teams to close the half.

Senior forward Alex Cook led the Panther attack with 19 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Emily Berry added 14 points and junior center Cassie Hager finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Indiana State only had one player reach double figures as Melanie Boeglin tallied 19 points.

The Panthers exploded out of the gates to start the second half, leading by as many as nine points. But an inspired effort from the Sycamores turned the tide against UNI. Indiana State led by eight points (67-59) with 1:19 remaining in the contest but the Panthers never gave up as they battled back to cut the deficit to two points, at 72-70, with three seconds left on the clock. Thatcher entered the contest and drained both foul shots to notch the win.

ISU committed a season-low eight turnovers in the contest and received a career effort from Hall. She scored nine points, drew three fouls on Cook and pulled down the decisive rebound at the end of the contest. ISU managed to put up 74 points against UNI, who entered the contest with the Valley’s stingiest scoring defense, allowing just over 57 points per game.

The Sycamores won for the second time at West Gym in the last three seasons and now own a 12-10 all-time record at the historic facility.

Indiana State looks to climb further back in the conference race when they travel to third-place Bradley on Sunday afternoon. The Braves took a 57-55 win over Illinois State tonight and moved to 4-2 in league. Tipoff against the Braves in scheduled for 3:05 p.m. (EST).

GAME BOX SCORE