Panther drop two games on the road

The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team continued their road woes, losing to Illinois State University 84-68 Friday night in Normal, Ill., despite having four Panthers reach double digits in scoring. The Panthers shot 35.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the 3-point line and gave up 84 points, which ties the record for the most points UNI has allowed all season.

K.K. Armstrong's 19 points Friday night put her in 12th place all-time in UNI women's basketball history with 1,101 career points.

With just over eight minutes left in the first half, UNI extended their lead to eight points, but ISU's hot shooting (47.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line) was just too much for the Panthers. ISU finished the half on a 24-10 run to take a 44-38 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, the two teams battled back and forth until ISU went on an 11-4 run to push their lead to 15 points with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. The Panthers cut the lead to as few as seven points on an Armstrong free throw with just over three minutes left but could not get any closer. UNI shot just 27.3 percent from the 3-point line and 52.9 percent from the free throw line in the second half.

UNI had a season-low eight turnovers, but the Panthers were outrebounded 48-33, which lead to a 9-2 advantage on second chance points for the Redbirds.

ISU pushed their home winning streak to 21 games behind 24 points from Katie Broadway and 17 points from Jamie Russell. Marley Hall and Candace Sykes both recorded double-doubles.

For the Panthers, Rachel Madrigal finished the game with 15 points. Katelin Oney and Amber Kirschbaum also added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

UNI (15-9, 8-5) was unable to turn their luck around on Sunday afternoon as they suffered a 71-60 loss at Indiana State University.

The Panthers and Sycamores were tied at halftime; however, a 14-4 run by Indiana State to open the half was enough to separate the teams. UNI got no closer than seven points the rest of the game. Katelin Oney led UNI with 16 points.

With the losses, the Panthers are just 4-6 on the road, compared to a 9-3 record at home. UNI dropped to fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference but remain just one game behind first-place teams Missouri State University and Wichita State University.

The Panthers return to action Friday against Bradley at 6 p.m. in Peoria, Ill.