QUAD CITIES -    Taylor Hagen saw a path to the basket and took it. As a result, Northern Iowa is headed back to the MVC Tournament semifinals.

Hagen drove for the go-ahead layup with 17 seconds left and teammate Heidi Hillyard followed with a key rebound and two free throws, lifting third-seeded Northern Iowa to a 66-63 victory over sixth-seeded Southern Illinois to complete the quarterfinal round.

The Panthers (20-11) emerged from a tense game that had four lead changes in the final 2 1/2 minutes to reach the semifinals for the fifth straight year. They'll meet second-seeded Missouri State in a rematch from last year's semis. Northern Iowa won that game 70-58 before losing to Drake in the championship game.
 
Karli Rucker also delivered down the stretch for the Panthers, hitting two key free throws and driving for a bucket to finish with 18 points to lead all scorers. The 5-foot-6 sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists.

Abby Gerrits, averaging just 5.8 points a game, contributed a season-high 17 points for Northern Iowa and Hagen finished with 16.
 
Makenzie Silvey led Southern Illinois (15-15) with 16 points. Season scoring leader Nicole Martin spent time on the bench in foul trouble and finished with 15 points. Brittney Patrick also scored 15 for the Salukis and Abby Brockmeyer had 10 to go with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Northern Iowa seemed on the verge of taking control of the game when it opened a 53-46 lead on Hagen's three-point play early in the fourth quarter. But the Salukis kept chipping away and finally pulled ahead at 60-58 when Martin converted a three-point play off a basket inside with 2:40 remaining.

UNI pulled back ahead at 62-60 before Patrick swished a 3 from the top of the key with 33.8 seconds to go, putting the Salukis up 63-62. With the Panthers looking for a good shot, Hagen took a pass on the left wing, got half a step on Martin and took it to the basket.

Hillyard clamped onto the rebound after Brockmeyer missed a short jump and made her free throws, just her third and fourth points of the game. Southern Illinois missed two 3-point shots in the final 3.6 seconds and the Panthers were moving on.
   The victory gives Coach Tanya Warren her fourth 20-win season at Northern Iowa, which had only two other seasons with 20 victories before she arrived.