Fans stormed the court at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls on Wednesday night as the University of Northern Iowa’s women’s basketball team made history, knocking off eighth-ranked Iowa State University with an 87-75 victory.
The win over Iowa State marks UNI’s first over a top-10 opponent in the program’s nearly 60-year history. Coming into the game, the Cyclones were a double-digit favorite on most sports books.
Maya McDermott leads UNI in win over Iowa State women’s basketball
UNI was led by guard Maya McDermott, who finished the game with a career-high 37 points on 14-of-21 shots. The Johnston native also added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Fellow guard Kayba Laube was the next leading scorer for the Panthers, finishing with 21 points and six rebounds.
“Maya was phenomenal,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. “I think the bigger thing was, both teams had opportunities to hit big shots and big times (and) they hit them and we didn’t.”
The Panthers improved to 3-1 on the season, while Iowa State suffered its first loss, falling to 4-1.
More: UNI stuns No. 8 Iowa State women’s basketball; hands Cyclones first loss
The Panthers, down three at halftime, outscored the Cyclones 23-11 in the third quarter with a 23-11 surge. Later, UNI used a 13-0 run to take control of the game. Laube’s 3-pointer gave UNI a 54-53 lead, followed by key baskets from Shateah Wetering and Grace McDermott to extend the margin. Laube capped the quarter with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 64-53, and UNI would maintain control.
When was the last time UNI beat Iowa State in women’s basketball?
Prior to Wednesday night, the last time UNI beat Iowa State was during the 2019-20 season when the Panthers beat the Cyclones 71-63.
Since 2005, the two programs have faced off 18 times, with Iowa State winning 15 of those contests. In that same period, UNI is 2-18 against fellow instate rival Iowa, with its last win against the Hawkeyes also coming during the 2019-20 season.
What are some other upsets in UNI athletics history?
While this is the first win over a top-10 opponent in UNI women’s basketball history, the men’s program has had its fair share of upsets.
In the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Panthers upset the No. 1 overall seed Kansas Jayhawks 60-67. In 2015, the Panthers knocked off two top-five ranked teams in less than a month when they defeated North Carolina and Iowa State.
When do UNI and Iowa State play Iowa?
On the women’s side, all four teams still play each other. Iowa State and Iowa face each other in the Cy-Hawk game on Dec. 11 in Iowa City. The Panthers play at Iowa on Dec. 20. UNI will face fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Drake twice later in the season (Feb. 1 and March 1), while Iowa State takes on the Bulldogs this Sunday, Nov. 24.
On the men’s side: Iowa and Iowa State battle in Iowa City on Dec. 12. Drake and UNI play Jan. 29 and Feb. 23.
More: Katie Dinnebier scores 40 points as Drake women’s basketball team falls to Iowa
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How many times has UNI women’s basketball beat Iowa State?
