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Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball to Face Nebraska in NCAA TournamentMarch 19, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
Sun., March 21 NCAA First Round vs. No. 1 Nebraska 6:06 p.m. TV: ESPN2 - Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Leslie Hill (Analyst) Radio: KWLO 1330 AM - Brad Wells
Tues., March 23 NCAA Second Round 8:30 p.m. vs. No. 8 UCLA/No. 9 North Carolina State TV: ESPN2 - Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Leslie Hill (Analyst) Radio: KWLO 1330 AM - Brad Wells
The University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball team will compete in its first-ever NCAA Tournament when it faces No. 1-seeded Nebraska in the first round at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Sunday at 6:06 p.m. The sixteenth-seeded Panthers earned the automatic bid after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
TIPPING OFF... • Third-year UNI head coach Tanya Warren and Nebraska head coach Connie Yori were teammates at Creighton, and their jerseys are the only two Bluejay numbers retired. This is the first meeting between the two as head coaches.
• UNI’s win over Creighton in the MVC final was in the Panthers’ first trip to the MVC championship game. UNI had gone 0-6 in semifinal games prior to this season.
• UNI sophomore Jacqui Kalin has the best free-throw percentage of any player in the NCAA Tournament field. The Sioux City, Iowa, native connects on 89.7 percent of her tries, ranking fifth nationally. ABOUT THE PANTHERS Led by third-year head coach Tanya Warren, UNI returned all five starters and 96 percent of its offense from the 2008-09 season. UNI battled through a tough non-conference schedule to post a 4-7 mark going into the conference season. UNI finished 10-8 in conference play to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Panthers are led by sophomore guard Jacqui Kalin, who missed last season with an injury. The 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, Kalin leads UNI with 14.5 points and 3.0 assists per game, and she earned first-team All-Valley honors after scoring 17.2 points per game in conference action. Lizzie Boeck averages 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The 6-2 junior center was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 6.0 points per game to lead UNI to its first ever MVC Tournament Championship. She hit a go-ahead three with 1:10 left in UNI’s 61-59 win over Illinois State on Saturday, and on Sunday she scored the game’s final nine points, including two free throws with 7.1 seconds left, to help UNI beat Creighton 54-53. Nicole Clausen, who averaged 7.7 points per game this season, broke the UNI record for threes in a career in the MVC semifinal on March 13, and she enters NCAA Tournament play with 205 threes to her credit. She also scored her 1,000th career point during the semifinal game, becoming the 18th Panther to reach the milestone. Erin Brocka ranked second in the MVC with 8.9 rebounds per conference game. Sophomore K.K. Armstrong came off the bench to average 9.5 points per game in league play. Kim Wypiszynski, the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year, averaged 9.0 points for UNI this season.
HOW THE PANTHERS GOT HERE The Panthers entered the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed, posting a 10-8 record in league play. In the MVC quarterfinal, UNI rallied from an early 10-point deficit to win 70-50. Lizzie Boeck led UNI with 19 points in that game. UNI met top-seeded Illinois State in the semifinal. The Panthers trailed by a pair with less than two minutes to play, but Boeck hit a three with 1:10 on the clock to give UNI a one-point lead. Erin Brocka came up with a blocked shot on the defensive end, and she made the first of two free throws to secure the 61-59 win for the Panthers. Boeck finished that game with 16 points, and Brocka added 14. The Panthers faced No. 2 Creighton in the semifinal. UNI held a four-point lead at the half, but the Bluejays came back to take a 53-45 lead with 7:46 to play. UNI held the Jays scoreless through the rest of the game, and Boeck hit a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds on the clock to give UNI a 54-53 lead. Creighton’s last-second attempt came up short to send the Panthers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA Nebraska enters the NCAA Tournament with a 30-1 overall record, going through the regular-season undefeated before falling 80-70 to No. 11 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament. The Huskers finished as Big 12 Regular-Season Champion, posting a perfect 16-0 conference record. Nebraska is led by Big 12 Player of the Year, Kelsey Griffin. The 6-2 senior averages 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. 6-2 senior forward Cory Montgomery earned first-team all-conference honors by averaging 12.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Yvonne Turner, a 5-8 senior guard, also picked up first-team all-conference honors by 12.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. She was tabbed Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, leading the Huskers with 60 steals on the season. This is the sixth meeting between UNI and Nebraska, and NU has claimed all five previous meetings. The teams last met in 2001, with Nebraska claiming an 80-74 victory.
QUICK SHOTS... • This is UNI’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament and its first trip to postseason play since competing in the WNIT in 2006.
• Lizzie Boeck was named the MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The junior averaged 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and she scored the go-ahead points in both the semifinal and final games. Nicole Clausen was also named to the MVC All-Tournament Team.
• Sophomore Jacqui Kalin and junior Lizzie Boeck were each named to MVC all-conference teams on March 10. Kalin was a first team pick, ranking second in the MVC with 17.2 points per game in league action. Boeck, who averages 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in MVC action, was an honorable mention pick.
• Kalin, Boeck and Erin Brocka were each named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team on March 9. Kalin, who has a 4.00 record in movement and exercise science, was a first-team selection. Boeck, who has a 3.69 CPA in family services, was tabbed to the second team. Brocka, who leads UNI with 8.9 rebounds per MVC game and holds a 3.49 GPA in movement and exercise science, was an honorable mention.
• UNI freshman Mercedees Morgan was a high school teammate of Nebraska’s Yvonne Turner.
• Jacqui Kalin ended a string of 22 straight games with double-digit scoring when she was held to eight points against Bradley on March 12. Entering the weekend, UNI was 0-3 in games where Kalin did not reach double-digit scoring and 0-5 in games where the sophomore scored 11 or fewer points. She averages more than 14 points per game, but tallied just 13 points total in the MVC Tournament.
• Nicole Clausen took over sole possession of the UNI record for threes in a career when she hit her 203rd three against Illinois State. She broke the record of 202 set by Nadine Brandt in 1999.
• Clausen scored her 1,000th career point against Illinois State. She becomes the 18th Panther to reach the milestone.
• UNI turned the ball over five times against Illinois State on March 13, marking the first time UNI committed single-digit turnovers since turning the ball over nine times against Bradley on March 3, 2007.
• Lizzie Boeck averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in the Panthers’ two wins against Creighton this year. She scored her career high with 24 points against CU on Feb. 21.
• Women’s basketball becomes the third UNI team to compete in an NCAA Tournament this year. Volleyball and men’s basketball each won their conference tournament.
• Jacqui Kalin ranks fifth in the nation with a 90.1 free-throw percentage. She ranks behind Indiana State’s Kelsey Luna, who connects on 91.8 of her free-throw tries, leading the MVC and ranking second nationally. Kim Wypiszynski ranks 10th nationally with an 88.3 free-throw percentage.
• The Panthers have a +8.8 rebounding margin in the second half of the MVC season, compared to a +1.3 margin during their first nine MVC contests.
• The UNI bench averages 25.1 points per game in MVC contests. • Jacqui Kalin’s 34 points against Indiana State on Jan. 30 are the second-most by an individual in conference action. Only Missouri State’s Jaleshia Roberson’s 36-point performance at Drake tops it. It is the fourth-highest individual point total by a Valley player on the season.
• Lizzie Boeck tallied a career-high 24 points in the Panthers’ win over Creighton on Feb. 21.
• The Panthers lead the MVC with 7.3 threes made per Valley game.
• UNI drained a season-high 12 threes in its 84-60 win over Bradley on Feb. 13. Six different Panthers connected from long range in the game.
• Jacqui Kalin ranks second in the MVC with 17.2 points per game in conference action. She averages 10.6 points in the second half of conference games.
• Erin Brocka ranks second in the MVC with 9.4 rebounds per Valley game.
• Jacqui Kalin has made three or more threes in six of the last seven games. In three of those games she connected four times from long range, and at Indiana State on Feb. 26 she drained five threes.
• Lizzie Boeck is shooting 48.7 percent from the floor in conference games, ranking eighth in the league.
• UNI has nine players averaging 10 or more minutes per game. Seven of those players have led the Panthers in scoring in at least one game this season.
• Jacqui Kalin failed to reach double-digit scoring against Bradley in the MVC quarterfinal, snapping a streak of 22 games with 10 or more points.
DOUBLING UP Erin Brocka recorded UNI’s first double-double of the season when she collected 10 rebounds and scored 13 points against Indiana State on Jan. 30. Brocka and Lizzie Boeck each recorded double-doubles in the Panthers’ 69-66 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 28.
BOUNCING BACK The Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with a pair of decisive home wins Jan. 7 and 9, topping SIU 64-43 and Evansville 99-67. The Panthers shot 48.8 percent from the floor in those two wins, averaging 81.5 points per game while holding their opponents to 55.0 points per contest.
CAREER NIGHT Amber Kirschbaum shot 8-of-9 from the floor in the second half against Evansville to finish with a career high 22 points.
STINGY D Drake was leading the conference with 44 percent shooting when the Panthers visited the Knapp Center on Jan. 22. UNI held the Bulldogs to 32 percent shooting and a season-low 46 points, nearly 25 points below DU’s season average. The Panthers held Drake to just 17 points in the first half, matching the Panthers’ season low for points allowed in a half.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES The Panthers looked like two different teams against Creighton on Jan. 24. UNI committed just six turnovers in the first half, but gave the ball away 14 times in the second 20 minutes. UNI grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first half, but was shutout of the offensive glass in the second period.
WELCOME BACK Katelin Oney has seen limited playing time since suffering a knee injury last season. With K.K. Armstrong out of the lineup at Creighton, Oney was called upon to play extended minutes, and she answered with gusto. The sophomore came off the bench and made her first three shots, two of them threes, on the way to a career-high 15 points.
BOECK NAMED SCHOLAR-ATLETE OF THE WEEK... AGAIN Lizzie Boeck was named MVC Scholar-Athlete of the week after averaging 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in the MVC Tournament, earning Most Oustanding Player honors. Boeck averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while playing limited minutes in the Panthers’ wins over Southern Illinois and Evansville in January, earning her MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors on Jan. 13. Boeck has a 3.69 GPA and is majoring in Family Services.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST When UNI tallied 99 points against Evansville on Saturday, it was the most points scored by the Panthers since matching that total against Missouri State on Feb. 18, 2001.
LOTS OF POINTS, BUT NO W UNI’s 90-80 loss at Missouri State was the first time UNI scored 80 or more points and lost since falling 90-88 against Indiana State on Jan. 11, 2003.
HOT AND COLD Just one game after scoring a season-high 80 points against South Dakota, the Panthers were held to a season-low 51 points against Iowa State on Sunday. UNI shot just 30.2 percent from the floor, also a season low.
KALIN NAMED SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Jacqui Kalin was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 15. The sophomore has a 4.00 GPA in exercise science. She averaged 19.5 points and 5.0 assists in UNI’s wins over UW-Milwaukee and South Dakota to earn the award.
SAME BEGINNING, DIFFERENT ENDING The Panthers trailed by six at halftime in both of their games in the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic, but the end results were very different. After going into the break down 29-23 against Louisville, the Panthers were outscored 52-30 in the second half to fall 81-53 to the Cardinals. Against Butler, UNI shot a season-high 68 percent from the floor in the second half to earn a 65-60 victory after trailing 22-16 at the break.
JEKYLL AND HYDE The Panthers looked like two different teams against Butler. In the first half, UNI shot 5-of-22 from the floor (22.7 percent), its lowest shooting percentage in a half this season. The Panthers rebounded in the second half, however, shooting 17-of-25 (68 percent) from the floor, their best shooting percentage in a half this season.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END Senior Kim Wypiszynski ended a string of 44 straight free throws made when she missed the first of a pair at Evansville on Feb. 7. It is the only free throw she has missed in MVC play. The streak dated back to Dec. 20 when she missed her first of six free-throw tries against Iowa State.
FAMILIAR FACES UNI returns 13 letterwinners, all five starters and 96 percent of its offense from the 2008-09 team.One of the Panthers’ returnees is 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year Kim Wypiszynski, who averaged 14.8 points per game in league play last year.
UNLUCKY 13 On November 13, The Panthers opened the season with a 64-62 loss against North Dakota State in the McLeod Center. The teams found themselves knotted in 13 ties, and the Panthers and Bison traded leads 13 times. It marks the first time UNI has lost its season opener under head coach Tanya Warren.
CLAUSEN FOR THREE Senior Nicole Clausen enters the season looking to become UNI’s all-time three-point field goal leader. Clausen has 188 threes to her credit, 14 shy of the record set by Nadine Brandt from 1998-02.
GET TO SIXTY Sixty has been the magic number for the Panthers under third-year head coach Tanya Warren. In the last three seasons, UNI is 3-32 in games where the Panthers did not score 60 points. Conversely, UNI finished 31-13 in games where it broke that barrier.
MCLEOD AND PROUD This is UNI’s fourth season playing in the McLeod Center. The Panthers are 29-18 in the facility.
NICE TO MEET YOU The Panthers signed a pair of Minnesota standouts to its 2010-11 roster on Nov. 11. Brooke Brown and Amanda Barton each signed a national letter of intent to play for the Panthers. Barton, a 6-2 post from Elysian, Minn., holds the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School record for points scored in a game (35) and in a career (1,057). She is also the WEM career rebounding leader, grabbing 820 boards through her first three seasons. Brown, a 5-8 guard from Chanhassen, Minn. comes to UNI after a standout career at Chaska High School. She earned all-conference and honorable mention all-state honors after averaging 13.2 points, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a junior.
UNI PICKED FOURTH The Panthers were selected to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference by the league’s coaches, sports information directors and media members. Creighton was picked to win the league, followed by Illinois State and Drake.
WE GO WAY BACK The 2009-10 roster features three sets of high school teammates. Seniors Lindsey Swanson and Nicole Clausen played together at Denison-Schleswig High School. Junior Erin Brocka and sophomore Indy Uhlenhopp were teammates at North Butler High School, and sophomore Katelin Oney and K.K. Armstrong both played at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids.
TWO THREES FOR THREE-TWO Kim Wypiszynski was 2-of-2 from three-point range in the Panthers’ season opener again North Dakota State on Nov. 13. The senior forward made just four threes in her junior season, never making more than one per contest.
WELCOME BACK The season opener marked the first action for sophomore Jacqui Kalin since Dec. 6, 2008. The guard missed the majority of 2008-09 with an ankle injury. Kalin finished 7-of-13 from the floor, including 2-of-6 from long distance, to score 18 points against NDSU.
UNI ONLINE UNI fans can connect with the Panthers on both Facebook and Twitter. Follow the Panthers at www.twitter.com/UNIAthletics and http://www.facebook.com/uniathletics.
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