UNI women's basketball host a ranked Missouri State team Friday before welcoming Southern Illinois Sunday to kick off the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule. The Panthers are coming off a pair of wins over Loyola and Valparaiso last weekend and is currently 8-0 at home so far this season, including a 4-0 mark in Valley games. Missouri State leads the league at 8-1 in MVC games and 18-3 overall. Southern Illinois is 5-4 in MVC play and 13-7 overall. The Salukis open the weekend at Drake.
• Missouri State is 18-3 on the year with their only losses coming on the road at Oregon State, at Gonzaga and at Southern Illinois.