Following a historic victory in the McLeod Center over then-No. 8 Iowa State, the UNI women’s basketball team traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands to compete in the Paradise Jam Tournament on Nov. 28-30. This year, the tournament hosted three Power 5 universities alongside the Panthers, which provided steep competition for the purple and gold. Although walking away from the event with a 1-2 record, the Northern Iowa women can hold their heads high with their performances.
UNI began its time in the Virgin Islands with a matchup against Auburn University, the first of three games on the Panthers’ schedule in as many days. Mya McDermott led the way for Northern Iowa, scoring 29 points on a respectable 47% from the field on 21 shot attempts. Fresh off the heels of a career-high 37 points against Iowa State, McDermott maintained her hot shooting from beyond the arc by going 4-7 from distance against the Tigers. The senior also chipped in four assists and two rebounds in what would ultimately be a heartbreaking defeat. After clawing back from a halftime deficit of 26-31, a McDermott 3-pointer tied the game at 49 entering the fourth quarter. A layup by forward Ryley Goebel kept the contest knotted up at 60 with just under two minutes left to play. Then, free throws by McDermott gave the Panthers a 64-62 point lead with only three seconds remaining. Auburn used a timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt before giving it to DeYona Gaston, a former 2022-23 All-Big 12 first-team member and 2023-24 Sixth Player of the Year at the University of Texas. Gaston sunk the go-ahead triple with only one second remaining. Similarly, UNI head coach Tanya Warren immediately called timeout to give her team one last opportunity to score in the frontcourt. Ultimately, a controversial no-foul call on Kayba Laube’s jump shot as time expired left the Panthers trailing 64-65 as the horn sounded.
In a 24-hour turnaround, the Northern Iowa women would return to the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Laube cashed in a team-high 20 points in a balanced scoring affair by going 5-7 from deep and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. McDermott and Goebel followed her up with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Freshman Elise Jaeger and junior Taryn Wharton also contributed eight points each. UNI saw increased bench production from senior Shateah Wetering, who snagged two steals and dropped nine points. Yet, a sub-par second quarter saw the Panthers outscored 13-22, leading to a 26-34 deficit at halftime. However, UNI showcased the same resilience from the day before to make the contest a one-possession game multiple times throughout the second half. With a little shooter’s touch, Laube’s 3-pointer cut the Kansas lead to 73-75 with 12 seconds left. The Panthers sent Jayhawk guard S’Mya Nichols to the free-throw line, needing the 2023-24 All-Big 12 First-Teamer to miss one of her two attempts. Nichols missed her first shot but calmly sunk her second. Down 73-76, McDermott found herself with the ball at the top of the key. After a pump fake, Nichols forced McDermott to take a contested, one-legged fadeaway three with time expiring. The shot touched every part of the rim and back iron before falling to the ground without passing through the net.
As the underdogs of a tournament, two last-second losses can inspire or demoralize a team. An unlucky bounce away from their first trip victory, the Panthers were in danger of leaving the Virgin Islands without a tally in the win column. Luckily, Kayba Laube wasn’t going to let that happen.
In an offensive explosion, Laube scored a career-high 34 points while pouring in 10 3-pointers on 15 attempts. She guided the Panthers to a 90-74 win over the University of Pittsburgh. Laube nearly earned herself a double-double, amassing seven boards throughout the contest. McDermott also played a significant role in UNI’s scoring outburst, contributing 21 points on an efficient 60% from the field. Sophomore forward Katy Reyerson led Northern Iowa off the bench with five points and two blocks. Shooting a team-wide 58.9% from the field and 48.5% from three allowed the Northern Iowa women to bury Pittsburg under a flurry of buckets. After two gut-wrenching defeats, the UNI women’s basketball team got to end their Thanksgiving break with a dominant victory.
The Northern Iowa women return to Cedar Falls on Dec. 7 for a matchup with the Creighton Bluejays at 2 p.m. Following the women, the Panther men take on the University of Northern Illinois as part of a McLeod Center doubleheader at 5 p.m.
