2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers were led by head coach Tanya Warren in her fifteenth season, and played their home games at the McLeod Center as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball
WNIT, second round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	23–11 (13–5 MVC)
Head coach	Tanya Warren (15th season)
Associate head coach	Brad Nelson
Assistant coaches	Steven Fennelly Katelin Oney
Home arena	McLeod Center

2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Southern Illinois	15	–	3		.833			21	–	10		.677
Missouri State	14	–	4		.778			25	–	8		.758
Northern Iowa	13	–	5		.722			23	–	11		.676
Illinois State †	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Loyola Chicago	10	–	8		.556			18	–	12		.600
Valparaiso	9	–	9		.500			11	–	19		.367
Drake	9	–	9		.500			20	–	14		.588
Indiana State	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Evansville	2	–	16		.111			8	–	22		.267
Bradley	1	–	17		.056			4	–	24		.143
† 2022 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2020–21 season with a 17–13 record, including 11–7 in MVC play. They received a bid to the 2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the Final Four.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Megan Maahs	50	F	6'1"	RS Senior	Epworth, IA	Graduated

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Riley Wright G	Marion, IA	Marion	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Jul 1, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 90
Anaya Barney G	Cedar Falls, IA	Cedar Falls	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Jul 13, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.

Roster

2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Maya McDermott 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Johnston Johnston, IA G 1 Anaya Barney 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA G 2 Cailyn Morgan 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Iowa City West Coralville, IA G 3 Karli Rucker 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr North Scott Eldridge, IA G 4 Emerson Green 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA G 5 Nicole Kroeger 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Palmyra Palmyra, MO F 11 Bre Gunnels 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Southeast Kansas City, MO G 12 Kam Finley 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA G 14 Riley Wright 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Marion Marion, IA C 21 Taryn McKee 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Van Buren Community Keosauqua, IA G 24 Kayba Laube 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Marion Marion, IA F 25 Sara McCullough 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Fr Ankeny Ankeny, IA C 30 Cynthia Wolf 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA F 33 Kiana Barney 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS So Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA F 42 Grace Boffeli 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr North Scott Eldridge, IA	Head coach Tanya Warren (Creighton) Assistant coach(es) Brad Nelson (Oregon) Steven Fennelly (Iowa State) Katelin Oney (Northern Iowa) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 15, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2021* 6:00 p.m.		Truman	W 83–58	–	14 – 2 tied	8 – Gunnels	7 – Rucker	McLeod Center  Cedar Falls, IA
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Saint Louis	W 63–54	1–0	17 – Rucker	11 – Wolf	3 – Gunnels	Chaifetz Arena (402) St. Louis, MO
November 14, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		No. 9 Iowa	L 61–82	1–1	17 – Finley	8 – Gunnels	4 – McDermott	McLeod Center (3,095) Cedar Falls, IA
November 17, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Dakota State	W 76–63	2–1	27 – Rucker	8 – Boffeli	4 – Rucker	Scheels Center (504) Fargo, ND
November 20, 2021* 11:00 a.m.		Witchita State	W 87–55	3–1	16 – Kroeger	8 – Boffeli	5 – Green	McLeod Center (497) Cedar Falls, IA
November 27, 2021* 1:00 p.m., FloSports		at Creighton	L 72–79	3–2	20 – Rucker	11 – Boffeli	5 – 2 tied	D. J. Sokol Arena (792) Omaha, NE
December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		at St. Thomas (MN)	W 102–62	4–2	17 – Green	11 – Wolf	10 – McDermott	Schoenecker Arena (375) Saint Paul, MN
December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		South Dakota State	W 59–50	5–2	13 – Finley	8 – Wolf	3 – Wolf	McLeod Center (636) Cedar Falls, IA
December 6, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3		Graceland	W 110–34	6–2	15 – 2 tied	7 – Wolf	7 – McDermott	McLeod Center (668) Cedar Falls, IA
December 12, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 15 Iowa State	L 69–70	6–3	28 – Finley	8 – Boffeli	6 – Rucker	Hilton Coliseum (9,726) Ames, IA
December 18, 2021* 9:00 p.m.		vs. Idaho Maui Classic	W 75–64	7–3	21 – Rucker	19 – Boffeli	5 – Rucker	Lahaina Civic Center (212) Lahaina, HI
December 19, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		vs. Oregon State Maui Classic	L 59–70	7–4	17 – Rucker	9 – Gunnels	3 – Rucker	Lahaina Civic Center (415) Lahaina, HI
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
January 7, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Valparaiso	L 58–60	7–5 (0–1)	13 – Boffeli	12 – Boffeli	8 – Rucker	Athletics-Recreation Center (179) Valparaiso, IN
January 9, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Loyola Chicago	W 58–54	8–5 (1–1)	16 – Rucker	9 – Boffeli	4 – Rucker	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (203) Chicago, IL
January 13, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Missouri State	W 74–65	9–5 (2–1)	19 – Rucker	14 – Boffeli	4 – Boffeli	McLeod Center (739) Cedar Falls, IA
January 15, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		Southern Illinois	W 66–57	10–5 (3–1)	18 – Rucker	7 – Gunnels	3 – 2 tied	McLeod Center (837) Cedar Falls, IA
January 21, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Drake	L 57–65	10–6 (3–2)	12 – Rucker	10 – Boffeli	4 – 2 tied	Knapp Center (2,300) Des Moines, IA
January 27, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Illinois State	W 74–67	11–6 (4–2)	16 – Kroeger	8 – Kroeger	5 – 2 tied	Redbird Arena (824) Normal, IL
January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bradley	W 60–36	12–6 (5–2)	14 – Boffeli	10 – Boffeli	3 – Rucker	Renaissance Coliseum (322) Peoria, IL
February 2, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Indiana State	W 72–49	13–6 (6–2)	15 – Finley	11 – Boffeli	4 – Gunnels	McLeod Center (821) Cedar Falls, IA
February 4, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Loyola Chicago	W 69–56	14–6 (7–2)	14 – 2 tied	18 – Boffeli	3 – 3 tied	McLeod Center (867) Cedar Falls, IA
February 6, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 68–38	15–6 (8–2)	14 – Rucker	14 – Boffeli	4 – McDermott	McLeod Center (1,099) Cedar Falls, IA
February 8, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Evansville	W 78–58	16–6 (9–2)	20 – Gunnels	12 – Wolf	3 – Kroeger	McLeod Center  Cedar Falls, IA
February 11, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	L 60–64	16–7 (9–3)	25 – Rucker	6 – Wolf	4 – Rucker	Banterra Center (418) Carbondale, IL
February 13, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 57–66	16–8 (9–4)	14 – 2 tied	8 – Gunnels	3 – Kroeger	JQH Arena (1,870) Springfield, MO
February 19, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		Drake	L 68–73	16–9 (9–5)	19 – Rucker	10 – Boffeli	4 – Laube	McLeod Center (1,374) Cedar Falls, IA
February 25, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bradley	W 77–56	17–9 (10–5)	15 – Finley	12 – Wolf	5 – McDermott	McLeod Center (1,701) Cedar Falls, IA
February 27, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Illinois State	W 70–63	18–9 (11–5)	19 – Gunnels	11 – Boffeli	5 – Rucker	McLeod Center (1,333) Cedar Falls, IA
March 3, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Indiana State	W 61–55	19–9 (12–5)	22 – Rucker	11 – Boffeli	4 – Wolf	Hulman Center (1,102) Terre Haute, IN
March 5, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Evansville	W 83–56	20–9 (13–5)	14 – 2 tied	6 – McCullough	3 – 3 tied	Meeks Family Fieldhouse (208) Evansville, IN
MVC tournament
March 11, 2022 8:30 p.m., ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Valparaiso Quarterfinals	W 63–39	21–9	16 – Finley	15 – Gunnels	3 – Rucker	TaxSlayer Center  Moline, IL
March 12, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	(3)	vs. (2) Missouri State Semifinals	W 63–57	22–9	18 – Rucker	9 – Boffeli	5 – Rucker	TaxSlayer Center (1,456) Moline, IL
March 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU	(3)	vs. (4) Illinois State Championship	L 48–50	22–10	16 – Rucker	8 – Gunnels	4 – Rucker	TaxSlayer Center (1,392) Moline, IL
Women's National Invitation Tournament
March 17, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kansas City First round	W 75–58	23–10	19 – Finley	6 – 2 tied	4 – 2 tied	McLeod Center (1,074) Cedar Falls, IA
March 21, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Drake Second round	L 55–62	23–11	11 – Finley	13 – Boffeli	3 – 2 tied	Knapp Center (2,037) Des Moines, IA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

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