CEDAR FALLS – UNI women's basketball was defeated by No. 25 Missouri State, 70-51, Friday evening at the McLeod Center.
Missouri State started the game on a 13-4 run en route to a 20-7 first-quarter lead.
The Lady Bears extended the lead to 20-13 with 3:07 to play in the second, but UNI rallied to cut the lead to 36-24 at the break.
Megan Maahs and Bre Gunnels started the third quarter with back-to-back buckets to cut the Lady Bears' lead to 36-28.
The Panthers continued to chip away at the lead and cut the deficit to 48-42 with 2:04 to play in the third, but the Lady Bears closed the frame on a 7-3 run to take a 55-45 lead in the final quarter.