Panthers Tame Coyotes To Pick Up A 64-43 Win

Tuesday, November 17

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

2-0

South Dakota

0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	F
South Dakota	8	14	13	8	43
UNI	18	17	16	13	64

Panthers Tame Coyotes To Pick Up A 64-43 Win

11/17/2015 9:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score in PDF

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team tamed the South Dakota Coyotes on Tuesday night, picking up a 64-43 win. UNI improved to 2-0 on the season while South Dakota fell to 0-2.

UNI had three players jump into double-digit scoring against South Dakota, with Jen Keitel leading the team with 15 points, going 6-for-12 from the field. Amber Sorenson added 14 points and six boards with Madison Weekly chipping in 11 points and three rebounds.

Sharnae Lamar also turned in a top performance for the Panthers, dishing out a career-high and game-high nine assists. She added five points and finished tied for a team-high six rebounds against the Coyotes.

The Panthers started the game on a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead, forcing South Dakota to go 0-for-5 from the field over a 2:50 span of the first quarter. In UNI's 9-0 run included a three-pointer from Keitel, her second consecutive game with a three-pointer made.

UNI turned it into a 12-0 run, holding the Coyotes scoreless for over four minutes before Katie Liveringhouse was able to convert on a jumper to make the score 12-4 in UNI's favor. The Panthers struggled from the field late in the first quarter, allowing South Dakota to come within six points, but Weekly scored UNI's final four points of the quarter to give UNI an 18-8 lead.

Ellie Herzberg gave UNI a 14-point lead at the 4:54 mark in the second quarter after driving to the basket under heavy pressure, making it 27-13. South Dakota continued to struggle, giving away three turnovers to the Panthers in a span of 2:42. UNI kept up the pressure, heading into the half up 35-22.

South Dakota started the third quarter with five unanswered points, but Sorenson found an easy bucket after a dime from Herzberg to get the Panthers back on track with a 37-27 lead. The Coyotes kept knocking at UNI's door, but back-to-back three-pointers from Angie Davison kept the Panthers at a 10-point lead, making it 43-33 with less than five minutes to play in the quarter.

The Coyotes chipped away at UNI's lead to make it an eight point game with 4:10 left in the third quarter, but UNI answered with an 8-0 run, capped off by five straight points from Weekly to give UNI a 51-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers jumped out to a 20-point lead to start the final quarter of the game, scoring four unanswered points, giving UNI a 55-35 advantage. Despite going on a scoring drought for over three minutes, UNI also forced South Dakota to go 0-for-5 from the field in that time period.

South Dakota finished the game on a 3:21 scoreless period, only making one of their last nine shots of the game, allowing UNI to pull away for its 64-43 win. The Panthers return to action on Sunday, Nov. 22 when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes at 2 p.m.

Post-Game Notes vs. South Dakota

Jen Keitel has scored in double figures in back-to-back games, notching 15 against South Dakota. She has also hit three-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time in her career, scoring two against the Coyotes.
The Panthers forced over 10 turnovers in the first half for the second game in a row. UNI ended up forcing 19 total turnovers on the Coyotes.
Sharnae Lamar racked up a career-high nine assists against South Dakota, the most assists in a game UNI has had since 2013 (Jacqui Kalin, eight assists vs. Evansville on Feb. 2, 2013).
Ellie Herzberg notched a career-high six steals against the Coyotes, the most steals in a game for the Panthers since K.K. Armstrong turned in eight against Bradley in 2012.
UNI's combined 82 points allowed through the first two games is the lowest amount scored by opponents in UNI's first two regular season games since the 1973-74 season (Dec. 7, 1973 vs. Luther, 57-41 | Jan. 12, 1974 vs. Iowa State, W 73-38).
Amber Sorenson is now tied for seventh all-time at UNI in career three-pointers made. She has 135 under her belt with two coming this season, tying Traci Ollendieck (2004-08).
UNI has held their first two opponents to a combined six three-pointers made. Rockhurst University only converted on five threes while South Dakota was only able to knock down one after averaging 6.1 per game last season.