Women’s basketball falls short in overtime, 78-75

Sharnea+Lamar+was+second+on+the+team+with+14+points.+The+Panthers+are+fifth+in+the+MVC+with+63.9+points+per+game

ANDI KING

Sharnea Lamar was second on the team with 14 points. The Panthers are fifth in the MVC with 63.9 points per game

BRANDON TJEPKES, Sports Editor

The UNI women’s basketball team hosted the Missouri State Bears on Saturday. The Panthers lost the game in overtime, 78-75.

The Bears began the first quarter with a 5-2 lead thanks to a three-pointer. The game was tied, 7-7, when the Panthers took control.

Madison Weekly made a jumper to start a 10-0 run that consisted of six points from Lauren Parker and a layup by Jen Keitel. The quarter ended with a 17-7 Panther lead.

UNI’s Angie Davison drained a three-pointer early in the second quarter to bring the score to 20-9. MSU took the whole quarter to cut down the UNI lead. A 7-1 run brought the score to 21-16. Keitel drove for a layup to increase the lead, but it was not enough. MSU made a 7-3 run to cut the Panther lead to two before MSU’s Kenzie Williams drained a three to take the halftime lead to 27-26 in favor of the Bears.

The third quarter started with the Bears increasing their lead to five within the first two minutes. The Panthers took back the lead with 5:51 remaining in the quarter thanks to an Amber Sorenson three-pointer. A minute and a half later, the Bears executed an 11-3 run to bring the score to 49-42.

Panthers Hannah Schonhardt and Sharnae Lamar brought the score to 49-47, but MSU made a jumper with 44 seconds remaining to end the quarter with a 51-47 score.

Keitel scored a three-point play to cut the MSU lead to 51-50, but MSU’s Liza Fruendt made two three-pointers to increase their lead. The Panthers gained their first lead of the second half with a 9-0 run for the 59-57 score.

The score was 68-65 in favor of the Panthers when MSU’s Fruendt made a three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining to end regular time to a 68-68 tie.

MSU took control of overtime with a 9-2 run and a 77-70 lead with one minute remaining. A Sorenson three-pointer and a Keitel layup cut the lead to 77-75, but there was not enough time left to complete the comeback.

The Panthers were well-rounded in the scoring department. Weekly led with 19 points, Lamar had 14 points, Keitel added 12 points and Sorenson scored 10 points.

The Bears bested the Panthers in three-point shooting. The Bears made 42.9 percent of their threes while the Panthers made 29.4 percent. The Panthers were better on the free throw line as they made 87 percent while the Bears shot 72.2.

The Panthers travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to play Indiana State Friday at 2 p.m.