VALPARAISO, Ind. — The Norther Iowa women’s basketball team had no trouble against Valparaiso on Thursday night, walking away with a 76-53 victory on the road in its penultimate Missouri Valley Conference game.

The Panthers (16-12, 12-5) never trailed, leading by as much as 34 late in the third quarter against the Crusaders (12-16, 5-12). The victory for UNI also marked its first win at Valparaiso since downing the Crusaders in December of 1992.

Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick led the Panthers with 15 points on Thursday as UNI shot 40 percent as a team in the win. Megan Maahs posted her 11th double-double of the year with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Ellie Howell rounded out the double-figure scoring after chipping in 11 points on the night.

Bryce Blood and Grace Hales led the Crusaders in scoring with 11 and 10 points respectively off the bench.

The Panthers close out the regular season on Saturday when UNI heads to Chicago to face off with Loyola at 1 p.m.