After earning a spot in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT), the UNI women’s basketball team were defeated in the third round. The Panthers lost to the University of South Dakota on Thursday night, 51-50.

Just after winning the regular season conference championship, the Panthers entered the MVC tournament as the No. 1 seed.

They went by Bradley and Southern Illinois to make the MVC championship game. The Panthers were defeated by Missouri State, 71-58, for the ticket to the NCAA tournament.

The Panthers’ season was extended with their bid to the tournament. Their first opponent was set on March 17 in Lincoln, NE to play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Panthers managed a five-point lead after the first quarter, but the Cornhuskers came back for a 28-25 halftime lead.

The Cornhuskers kept ahead through the whole third quarter. The fourth quarter began with a 41-35 Cornhusker lead. The Panthers nearly doubled their points on their way to a 64-62 victory.

Madison Weekly and Jen Keitel led the Panthers in points with 22 and 15, respectively.

The Panthers returned to Cedar Falls on March 19 for the round of 32. MVC rival Drake was the second opponent.

The Bulldogs scored the first two points of the game, but a three by Weekly quickly turned it around.

It looked like the Panthers were going to dominate the game as they ended the first quarter, 15-9.

The Bulldogs kept the game exciting as they were within five points for the entire second quarter. They retook the lead with 2:38 remaining in the half before the Panthers ended it, 24-23.

The third quarter was filled with lead change after lead change. Drake took the lead right away with a layup, but a Stephanie Davison three retook it for the Panthers.

Drake tied it up twice before the Panthers ended the third quarter with a layup from Davison and a 45-39 lead.

The Panthers dominated the rest of the game as they maintained around a ten-point lead for most of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored five points within the last ten seconds, but it was not enough to cancel the 64-58 Panther victory.

While three Panthers scored over ten points, the main aspect of the game was Sharnae Lamar’s 15 assists. Lamar had recorded 189 total after their victory for the most in a UNI single season.

The Panthers then travelled to Vermillion, SD on March 24 for their Sweet 16 match-up with the South Dakota Coyotes.

The Coyotes scored a 5-2 run to take the first lead of the game. The Panthers answered with a 9-0 run for the 11-5 lead. The Coyotes took back the lead with less than half the quarter remaining.

The lead changed three times before a Jen Keitel jumper ended the first quarter, 19-18.

Neither team was able to put up any points during the first three minutes of the second quarter.

With a Coyote drought, the Panthers increased their lead to 25-20 thanks to inside points in the paint. The Coyotes cut the lead to 27-24 to bring the second quarter to a close.

The Panthers kept the lead for most of the third quarter, but the Coyotes remained close behind. Weekly’s five points kept the Coyotes at bay until two minutes remaining in the quarter.

The Coyotes took the lead twice, but Keitel’s tip in ended the third quarter with a 37-37 tie.

The fourth quarter was filled with never-ending madness. 10 lead changes and two ties made was the result. The Panthers gained a 48-45 lead with 4:38 remaining thanks to a Davison layup and two Weekly free throws.

The Coyotes remained stingy as they scored a 6-0 run to take the lead. Davison scored with 42 seconds remaining, but it was not enough for the 51-50 Coyote victory.

Keitel and Davison led the Panthers in scoring with 19 and 13, respectively.

This was the last season for seniors Amber Sorenson, Lamar, Davison and Keitel. Sorenson set the school record with 97 three-pointers and ranks second in UNI history with 228 total.

Lamar ranks No. 7 in school history with 346 assists and No. 8 with 125 games played. Davison ranks No. 6 with 127 games played and No. 16 with 2,917 total minutes played. Keitel ranks No. 4 in blocks (106), No. 9 in rebounds (681) and No. 12 in points (1,082).

The Panthers finished the season with a 24-11, marking the second-most wins in UNI history.