Panthers defeat Creighton to win MVC Women’s Tournament
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (UNI) — University of Northern Iowa junior Lizzie Boeck scored nine straight points, including two free throws with 7.1 seconds left, to give the Panthers a 54-53 win over Creighton in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Sunday afternoon in The Family Arena.
The victory gives the Panthers an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Boeck led the Panthers (17-15) with 19 points, earning the title of Most Outstanding Player for the Tournament. Nicole Clausen finished with 10 points, and the senior also was tabbed to the all-tournament team.
Erin Brocka finished with five points and nine rebounds for Northern Iowa.
The Panthers trailed by eight, 53-45, with 7:46 to play, but UNI held Creighton scoreless through the remainder of the game, and Boeck tallied nine straight points to give the win to the Panthers. Her free throws with 7.1 seconds left gave UNI its first lead in more than 16 minutes.
Creighton’s Megan Neuvirth was able to get a shot off at the buzzer, but it would not fall.
Boeck and Brocka hit back-to-back 3s to give UNI a 16-11 lead. Creighton responded with seven straight points to go in front, 18-16. Kim Wypiszynski scored on a putback to tie the game, but a free throw from Megan Neuvirth put CU back in front by a point, 19-18 with 6:51 left in the first half.
The teams traded leads three times over the next three minutes. Katelin Oney hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Panthers back in front 24-23 with 3:35 on the clock. That was the beginning of a 7-0 run for UNI, giving the Panthers a 28-23 lead with 1:55 left in the half.
Neuvirth scored on a layup to end the Panther run and cut the UNI lead to 28-25. Chevelle Herring connected on a pair of free throws to pull the Jays within a point, but Nicole Clausen hit her second 3-pointer of the game to send the Panthers into the break in front, 31-27.
Sam Schuett scored four straight points to tie the game, but Brocka scored on a layup to return the lead to UNI 35-33 with 17:32 remaining. Nelson scored on a layup and Jasmin Corbin hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give CU its first lead of the second half, 38-35.
Neuvirth hit a layup to give the Jays a five-point lead. Creighton would stretch its lead to eight, with 7:40 to play. Wypiszynski scored on a left-handed layup and Boeck hit a free throw to cut the CU advantage to 53-48 with 5:52 to play. Neither team scored for more than three minutes, with a jumper by Boeck at 2:54 ending the drought and pulling the Panthers within three.
UNI came up with a defensive stop, and Boeck pulled the Panthers within a point with a layup that made the score 53-52. Both teams came up empty-handed until Boeck was fouled as she drove the baseline with 7.1 seconds on the clock. The Panthers were in the bonus, and she connected on both attempts to put UNI in front for good.
UNI shot 18-of-51 (35.3 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-20 (30 percent) from 3-point range. The Panthers were 12-of-15 (80 percent) from the free-throw line.
Creighton shot 19-of-48 (39.6 percent) from the floor, including 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc.
The Bluejays were 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the free-throw line. UNI committed 10 turnovers, resulting in nine points for CU. The Jays turned the ball over 14 times, resulting in 15 points for the Panthers. Creighton outrebounded the Panthers, 34-27.
UNI will move on to the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament. UNI will find out its opponent when the field is announced on Monday at 6 p.m. The team will hold a watch party in the Alumni Suite of the McLeod Center starting at 5:30 p.m.
