T-R GRAPHIC

CEDAR FALLS — The University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball team gets its postseason started today with a game against Milwaukee in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

This is the ninth overall meeting between the Panthers from Cedar Falls and the Panthers from Milwaukee, with UNI owning a 6-2 record over Milwaukee.

Northern Iowa (19-13) has seen a resurgence toward the end of the season, as it has won nine of the last 11 games with the only two losses coming to Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champion Drake.

Milwaukee (20-11) is playing in its third-straight postseason after going 11-7 in the Horizon League. It boasts a potent trio of scorers averaging in the double figures led by Jenny Lidner at 14.3 points per game and followed by Steph Kostowicz at 13.9 points per game and Bailey Farley at 11.6 points per game.

UNI has a couple of weapons at its disposal as well, with Megan Maahs leading the way with her 12 double-doubles this season, the most for a UNI player since Alex Cook had 13 in the 2003-2004 season.

Maahs is averaging 10.3 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per contest, while Kennedy Kirkpatrick is also averaging 10.3 points per game and Ellie Howell follows just behind at 10.1 points per game. Howell and Maahs were both named to the MVC All-Tournament team while Maahs was an All-MVC first team selection and an all-defensive team selection and Howell was named as an honorable mention.

UNI has also shot nearly 32 percent from behind the 3-point arc this season, going 243-for-763 from deep. The 243 makes is the fifth-most in Northern Iowa history, with Kirkpatrick leading the way with 45 hits from downtown.

Another key will be holding Milwaukee to as few points as possible, as UNI is undefeated in games under coach Tanya Warren when holding opponents to 50 points or less.

Milwaukee and Northern Iowa will face off in the first round of the WNIT in the McLeod Center tonight, starting at 7 p.m.