Dec. 18, 2005
Box Score
Cedar Falls, Iowa -
Senior center Cassie Hager led the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team to a 60-53 win over Chicago State this afternoon in the West Gym. Hager (Perry, Iowa) had a game-high 21 points and five blocks.
Junior Sarah Larsen (Kalona, Iowa) and Jessie Biggs (Ottumwa, Iowa) scored into double-digits with 14 and 10 points, respectively. They both also tallied team-highs as Larsen dished out five assists and Biggs grabbed nine rebounds.
Brandi-Janai Carter led the Cougars with 12 points and Faith Buchanan pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Chicago State falls to 5-5 on the season.
The Panthers pulled out to a 17-9 lead with 11:28 remaining in the first half. Biggs drilled an NBA-range three-pointer and junior Alicia Irons (Boone, Iowa) drove to the basket during a UNI 13-0 run. Chicago State then took over with a 11-3 swing of its own and the game was knotted at 24-all at halftime.
The score was tied five times in the second half before UNI could pull away in the final minutes. Hager scored 16 points in the second half, going 4-of-5 with two swats in the final 10 minutes. UNI's defense also forced three crucial turnovers near the end of the game.
UNI improves to 6-2 and takes an eight-game home win streak into Wednesday's game against Iowa in the UNI-Dome at 7:05 p.m.
