CEDAR FALLS, Iowa- Northern Iowa's (14-11, 8-6) defense came up with a late 11-4 run to come back from a five-point deficit to grab its 17th-straight victory over Wichita State (9-14, 4-9), winning 53-49 Thursday evening inside the McLeod Center.
Wells led the Shockers with 10 points and 11 rebounds on the night, while Kiki Stephens scored her 1,000th career point en route to a team-high 13 points, while pulling down eight boards. Junior Taylor Steven chipped in eight points while Kyrie Kinder added seven.
Tara King led all players with 14 points while Sarah Larsen added 12 and Traci Ollendieck ended with 11.
Wichita State won the battle on the boards, 43-36, but UNI forced 23 Shocker turnovers, including 14 in the first half. WSU blocked eight shots and posted 12 steals, but UNI was 9-for-13 at the line, with a 5-6 clip down the stretch in the second half to pull away.
The first half started slow, as both teams combined for a 7-for-25 effort from the floor - UNI going 4-for-13 while the Shockers missed nine of their first 12 shots from the field. UNI's defense had plenty to do with WSU's shooting woes, forcing eight turnovers in the first five minutes and 14 total in the first half.
The teams traded baskets for much of the opening minutes, with the Shockers taking an early 8-7 lead following a Kinder three from the left corner with :01 second left on the shot clock. UNI answered immediately with a 14-footer from King on the right baseline that gave the Panthers a 9-8 lead with just under 11 minutes in the half.
Eight lead changes led to a competitive first half, until UNI closed the first frame on a 16-4 run over the final five minutes to lead 31-22 at the break following Ollendieck's eighth point of the night, a jumper just as time expired to give the Panthers their largest lead of the night to that point.
UNI heated up after its early shooting woes, ending the half 9-for-16 from the field while limiting Wichita State to a 34.6 percent effort from the floor. The Shockers kept within striking distance with the help of a 3-for-5 clip from three-point range, and a 21-13 advantage on the boards, including a 7-3 margin on the offensive glass. The Panthers were unable to capitalize on the Shockers' mistakes, scoring just nine points off WSU's 14 turnovers.
Wichita State opened the second half on a 20-6 run, capped by a three from Kinder, giving WSU its largest lead of the game, 42-37 with 8:49 remaining. The Panthers' cold spell ended, as UNI posted six unanswered points to lead by one at the 5:10 mark.
Kinder tied the game for the third time with a free throw at 4:44. King hit a pair of free throws, then Ollendieck connected on her third three of the game to give UNI a 48-45 edge with 3:51 on the clock.
Stephens hit a jump shot then a pair of free throws to trim the UNI lead to one, 48-47. On the Panther end of the floor, Nicole Clausen saved a Panther miss from going out of bounds, and Larsen tracked down Clausen's save near mid-court. Danielle Wubbens found King behind the arc, and the senior knocked down a three at 1:40 to stretch UNI's advantage to four, 51-47.
Once again, Stephens brought the Shockers within striking distance when she hit a jump shot at 1:25 that made the score 51-49. Wichita State had a chance to tie the game, taking a shot with 22 seconds left, but the Panthers came up with the defensive rebound. WSU elected to foul, and King connected on a pair of free throws with 18.1 seconds left to seal the win for UNI.
-Wichita State-
