The UNI women’s basketball team improved to 9-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference as they defeated the Indiana State Sycamores, 61-45, on Feb. 12. This is the second straight victory for the Panthers.

Jen Keitel started the game off with a jumper for the early lead, but Indiana State responded with a 7-0 run.

Hannah Schonhardt and Stephanie Davison cut the lead to 10-8 with 3:23 left in the first quarter. Keitel made a jumper with a minute left in the quarter to cut the Sycamore lead.

Keitel started the second quarter hot as she scored six points, but the Sycamores scored another 7-0 run for a 23-18. Madison Weekly drained two three-pointers, bringing the score to a 25-24 Sycamore lead.

The score was tied, 25-25, when the Panthers gained momentum. Keitel and Weekly teamed up for a 7-4 run and a 32-29 Panther lead at halftime. The Panthers kept the lead for the remainder of the game.

Keitel made a jumper to start a 7-0 run in the beginning of the second half. A 5-0 Sycamore run cut the lead to 39-34, but Sharnae Lamar and Davison combined for four points to cancel it out. Four Sycamore free throws were not enough, as Keitel and Weekly teamed up again for four points to end the third quarter, 47-38.

Davison and Amber Sorenson scored an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter off with a 55-38 Panther lead. The score came up to 57-41 when the game halted. Neither team scored for nearly four and a half minutes. Weekly made a layup to end the scoreless spell. Time ran out on Indiana State as UNI ran away with the 61-45 victory.

UNI’s defense paved the way as they held Indiana State to 27.8 percent shooting and 73.3 percent on the free throw line. UNI was proficient as they made 42.6 percent of their shots and 83.3 percent of their free throws.

Keitel and Weekly led the Panthers with 18 points each while Davison added 12 of her own.

The Panthers will host the Drake Bulldogs on Friday at 7 p.m.