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Missouri State (12-11, 4-7 MVC) played catch-up almost the entire game after UNI (11-12, 6-5) went on an early 13-0 run, nearly pulling out a miracle win, but came up just short of a third consecutive victory.
Trailing 75-65 after two UNI free throws with 1:17 left on the clock, Karly Buer’s 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining began the charge and was followed by a Tyonna Snow layup with 42 seconds left, another Buer trey with 29.4 on the clock, and Hannah Wilkerson hitting two free throws for a 78-75 deficit with 15 seconds to play.
The Lady Bears nearly came up with an offensive rebound on Wilkerson’s miss of her third free throw during that sequence, and Snow added a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go before Kalin iced the game with a pair from the charity stripe and five seconds to play.
UNI went 7-for-12 from the foul line in the last 58 seconds, making the free throw disparity much closer than it was most of the game, as the Panthers finished 23-for-29 while MSU made 35 foul shots in 47 tries, the most makes for the Lady Bears since 2010 and the most attempts in a game since 2001.
After UNI’s 13-0 run to lead 19-8 with 12:16 to play, Missouri State mounted numerous comeback tries but never could regain the advantage.
Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer for 23-17 and added a 3-point play for 25-20 with 8:22 left before UNI went up 35-22 with a 10-2 run. Missouri State then countered with a 10-0 run to close within one possession, only to see Kalin answer with a trey for 38-32 with 1:43 left in the first half.
The Panthers were back ahead by 13 at 50-37 with 16 minutes left, Missouri State answered with a 7-0 run to close to 50-44, but another Kalin trey made it 62-49 with 8:40 left. The sequence repeated itself again with a 7-0 MSU run and Kalin triple for 67-57 UNI with 4:48 to play, and the Panthers’ lead remained between eight and 12 points until Missouri State’s comeback in the final minute.
While Missouri State out-scored the Panthers by 12 points at the foul line, the Lady Bears shot just 19-for-52 overall and 5-for-17 from beyond the arc, while UNI made 24 of its 64 shots and went 11-for-30 from distance.
Snow shot 11-for-16 from the foul line and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double, while Buer (18), Whitney Edie (12) and Wilkerson (10) joined her in double figures. MSU held a 43-36 rebounding edge.
Missouri State returns to action Feb. 14 at 7:05 p.m. with a visit to Creighton (16-6, 8-3).
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