UNI Women Fall in OT - ABC5 News Des Moines, IA

UNI Women Fall in OT

Will Hall

whall@myabc5.com

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team fell to the Wichita State Shockers in overtime of the semi-final round of the MVC Tournament, 75-71. The Panthers were led by seniors Jacqui Kalin and Amber Kirschbaum.

Kalin finished with 26 points and six assists while Kirschbaum finished with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Panthers went into the first media timeout with a 5-4 lead over the Shockers after Wichita State held a 4-0 lead with 17:38 left in the first half. Brooke Brown hit UNI's first field goal of the game, draining a three-pointer. Kirschbaum was then able to convert on her signature turnaround jump shot to give UNI the lead.

UNI held a 9-8 lead with 11:54 on the clock, with Kirschbaum scoring six of the Panthers' nine points. Wichita State took their second lead of the game with 11:12 left in the half when Chynna Turner ran in for a layup, but Kalin and Hannah Schonhardt got the lead back, hitting consecutive three-pointers to make the score 15-10.

Jess McDowell gave UNI a 10-point lead with 3:12 left in the first half off a 17-footer, making the score 27-17. Wichita State's Alex Harden hit a jump shot on the next play, but McDowell struck again, knocking down a big three-pointer to give UNI a 30-19 lead.

The Panthers went into halftime with a 32-21 lead over the Shockers. UNI shot 48 percent in the first half, led by Kirschbaum who finished 4-5 from the field for 10 points.

Wichita State went on a 9-1 run to open the second half, cutting the UNI lead to three-points with 17:16 on the clock. Kalin hit the Panthers first field goal of the second half with 17:08 left in the half, hitting her second three-pointer of the game to make the score 36-30.

The Shockers took a three-point lead with 14:15 on the clock off a jump shot from Michelle Price. Kalin drove strong through the lane on the next offensive play for the Panthers, cutting the Shocker lead to one-point, making the score 39-38. Stephanie Davison gave the lead back to UNI when she hit a long jumper from the corner to give UNI a 40-39 lead.

Wichita State went on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead on the Panthers with less than 10 minutes left in the game, but Schonhardt was able to pull up for a quick jumper in the lane to cut the run off and make the score 46-42. On the next two offensive drives, Kalin and Brown knocked down huge three-pointers, followed by two free throws from Kalin to give UNI a 50-49 lead with 5:43 on the clock.

With four different lead changes under the five minute mark in the game, the Panthers took the lead again with 2:34 on the clock when Kalin drove through the lane for a layup to make the score 58-57.  Wichita State regained the lead with 1:03 left in the game when Alex Harden converted on a jump shot, followed by two free throws from Jessica Diamond to make the score 63-60.

Kalin drove through the lane again with 13 seconds left in the game to cut the Wichita State lead to one-point, making the score 63-62. Wichita State held a three-point lead after Alex Harden hit two free throws, but the MVC Player of the Year drained a deep three-pointer to send the game into overtime and make the score 65-65.

Wichita State opened overtime on a 9-2 run sparked by a three-pointer by Diamond, giving the Shockers a 74-67 lead with 1:50 left in the period. UNI cut the Shocker lead to three points with 49 seconds left in the period off two free throws from Brown, but after a failed last attempt by the Panthers, UNI fell to Wichita State 75-71.