Eight-point halftime deficit? No problem for Tanya Warren’s UNI women’s basketball squad. Senior guard Brooke Brown poured in a game-high 20 points to lead her team to rally past the visiting Ramblers of Loyola Chicago Thursday evening.
The game started back and forth, with multiple lead changes, until Loyola took a 17-15 lead with 4:29 left in the first half. After that, it seemed as if the Ramblers were in control. The visitors lead 32-24 at the break and maintained their lead, even pushing it to double figures at one point. However, the Panthers had other plans. About half way through the second half, UNI used a 13-0 run that wiped away the deficit for good. It was sparked by a layup from Brittni Donaldson and then a block by Ellie Herzberg on the other end. UNI finally took the lead off of a Donaldson three-pointer with 9:19 to go. Those were Donaldson’s only five points in the game, but they could not have come at a better time.
Loyola responded by sinking a free throw and hitting a three to knot things up at 51, but a layup from Brown gave the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish. Brown scored half of her points in the last few minutes, including scoring the Panther’s last five points to clinch the home win.
Brown was joined in double-figure scoring by a 13 point outing from Herzberg, while forward Amber Sorenson tossed in a dozen points and pulled down eight rebounds as well.
The Panthers were also victorious on Saturday’s Senior Day game against Bradley. The McLeod Center has seen a variety of things from the women’s basketball senior class over the span of the last four years; from insane three point shooting to heart breaking injury. Thankfully, the senior class was able to go out on a strong note in their home finale on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the game, seniors Brooke Brown, Brittni Donaldson, and Ty Smith were honored on Senior Day.
UNI was able to withstand a comeback effort from Bradley and hold on to the win 74-68. It may have been Senior Day, but the heroes were junior forward Amber Sorenson and sophomore guard Madison Weekly. Sorenson was unstoppable, scoring a career-high 23 points. She also went to work on the defensive end swatting a trio of shots. Weekly had 19 points, three assists, and took care of the ball by not turning it over.
Sorenson got going early, hitting one of her seven shots from deep to put UNI on the board first. However, after a couple made free throws, the Panthers went on a scoring drought of about four minutes, allowing the Braves to gain a 9-5 lead. Fortunately, UNI hit back-to-back threes to tie it up at 11. UNI finally grabbed the lead for good a few possessions later after Sorenson knocked down another three to give the home team a 16-13 lead. UNI pushed their lead to seven before Bradley chipped away the lead to a single point game. Senior Ty Smith had an answer to get the Panthers back into attack mode when she sliced through traffic for a nifty lay-up. UNI went into halftime with a 34-29 lead.
In the second half, the Panthers kept cruising. Sorenson splashing threes right and left, and UNI looked as if they were rolling. Although, with only a couple minutes left, Bradley decided they were not done. They got the lead within three, but the Panthers were able to ice the game at the charity stripe.
Besides Sorenson and Weekly, other notable performances included Stephanie Davison’s 14 points Ellie Herzberg’s 11 rebounds, six of which were on the offensive end.
UNI finishes up the regular season with a 16-13 (12-6 MVC) record, and another winning season for coach Tanya Warren. The Panthers will travel to St. Charles, MO for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament over spring break where they hope to continue to win and maybe even snag an NCAA Tournament berth.
