Iowa State women suffer stunning loss to in-state rival UNI ahead of South Carolina showdown

Eighth-ranked Iowa State left stunned following loss to Northern Iowa on the road

Maya McDermott scored a career-high 37 points as Northern Iowa stunned No. 8 Iowa State Wednesday night. / Margaret Kispert/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Maybe it was a case of looking ahead. Maybe it was a case of going up against a red-hot scorer.

Either way, the eighth-ranked Iowa State women suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday night to in-state rival Northern Iowa, 87-75, in Cedar Falls from the McLeod Center.

Following four easy wins at home in Ames to begin the year, the Cyclones (4-1) went through a tough stretch during the third quarter, as the Panthers (3-1) outscored them 23-11. During a 12-minute stretch of play in the second half, UNI went on a 31-7 run to erase a 53-45 deficit.

Maya McDermott, who starred at Johnston before signing with the Panthers, scored a career-high 37 points. Another former Iowa prep, Marion’s Kayla Laube, added 21 as UNI overcame the loss of first team all-Missouri Valley Conference forward Grace Boffeli, who was injured over the weekend.

For the Cyclones, Audi Crooks had another double-double, scoring 22 points with 10 rebounds. Addy Brown also had a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Brown scored 17 of her 21 in the first half, helping ISU build a three-point advantage.

Kenzie Hare scored 14 points and Emily Ryan had 13 with six assists, but the Iowa State bench accounted for just five points on the night. 

The Cyclones have owned the series, winning 17 of the last 19 overall and eight of the last nine played in Cedar Falls. 

Four of the five starting Panthers played high school basketball in Iowa along with three of the four who came in off the bench. The other two who saw minutes are from Nebraska.

Emerson Green, a native of Cedar Falls, and Laube connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in the final moments of the third quarter to give the Panthers a 64-55 lead. Green, who was just 1-for-10 on the night, had missed her first seven 3-point attempts prior to her make.

Northern Iowa converted 14 turnovers by the Cyclones in 14 points and had just seven turnoovers themselves. They were also plus-4 on made free throws and knocked down four more 3-pointers on the night while shooting just over 49 percent from the field.

Before Iowa State zones in on top-ranked and defending national champion South Carolina Thanksgiving day in Florida, they will return home to host Drake on Sunday. Northern Iowa, meanwhile, is off until Nov. 28 when they face Auburn in the Paradise Jam Tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.