MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota women hit nine of their first 10 shots and built a 26-6 lead and held on for the 91-75 win over UNI Friday evening in the first round of the WNIT at Williams Arena. 

After allowing the Gophers to build a 52-28 lead at the half, the Panthers went on an 8-2 run to start the second half. UNI outscored Minnesota 21-18 in the third quarter and 26-21 in the fourth. 

UNI cut the deficit to 77-69 after an 8-0 run with 4:44 remaining in the game, but the Gophers rattled off a 10-3 run to extend the lead back to 15 and the Panther never cut the lead back to single digits. 

Karli Rucker was 9-15 from the field and 4-5 from the three-point line to score a team-high 26 points. Nicole Kroeger scored 16, including 10 in the second half on 6-7 shooting from the field. 

The Panthers close the season with a 20-13 record. 

NOTES
• The game was the last for Panthers Taylor Hagen and Mikaela Morgan. The duo combined for 17 points. 
• Karli Rucker scored 26 points, two off of her career high. It is her ninth game of the season with 20 or more points. 
• Rucker has scored 15 or more points in five of the last six games. 
• Minnesota went 9-10 from the field to start the game. 
• The Panthers are now 3-8 in the WNIT and 2-6 in the first round of the WNIT. 
• UNI is now 0-11 all-time against Minnesota. 
• Minnesota made its first six shots of the game to build a 16-6 lead before a missed three-pointer with 4:50 left in the first quarter.