After winning two of its last three games, Coach Jenny Yopps Redbird basketball team is the guest for Northern Iowa's home opener Friday in Cedar Falls.
Thats right. Northern Iowa, 6-7 overall, 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, plays its first home game since March 3, 2001 ... when the Panther opponent was Illinois State. UNI won that one, 80-76, surviving Nadia Peruchs career-high 25 points at West Gym.
Now, the Redbirds, 2-7 overall, 0-1 in the Valley, go after their first league win while trying to win at West Gym for the first time in five years. The Birds have been better lately, particularly on defense and while handling the ball. Over the past three games, ISU has limited opponents to 53 points per game on 36 percent from the field including just 29 percent from three-point range while trimming their own turnovers from 21.7 per game to 17.
For much of their Valley-opening loss at Indiana State, the Redbirds were in command of the game. But the Sycamores started 13-0 in the first seven minutes and finished 9-0 in the final two, leaving Illinois State to dominate the middle 31 minutes 51-35.
Yopp was proud of the fact that her team battled back from a deep early hole to take the lead, but knows her team is still searching for consistency.
Our team did a fantastic job of going on the road in the Missouri Valley Conference and coming back against a tough opponent, said Yopp. We just need to be able to sustain that kind of effort.
Against the Sycamores, sophomores Beth Huston and Sharon Blade showed effort off the bench. Huston had nine points and matched her career high with four assists, while Blade matched Stacey White for game honors with a season-best 13 points.
Coach Tony DiCeccos Panthers, who have played 13 games in 10 cities in seven states (plus Puerto Rico), have traveled more than 9,000 miles to find their way home. In the process, sophomore Amy Swisher has emerged as the UNI scoring leader with 16.2 points per game. Senior center Abbi Schutte adds 10.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Perhaps the key to UNI is guard Katie Miller, who averages 15.0 points per game in the six Panther wins, just 5.8 in their seven losses.
