CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa’s time at Hoops in the Heartland ended before the Panthers hoped it would, but their season still has an unwritten chapter.
UNI head coach Tanya Warren summed up the Panthers semifinal loss as a tale of two halves in which Belmont made big shots in big moments to advance to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship, 69-62.
“We played our hearts out,” Warren said. “We came up a little short, but [I am] extremely proud of our young women and the season we had.”
Warren specifically noted UNI’s ability to move beyond the losses of 2022 seniors Bre Gunnels, Karli Rucker and Nicole Kroeger with a 22-9 record in 2023 as one of the Panthers most impressive feats.
Shortly following Drake’s 89-71 win over Belmont in the conference title game, which entitled the Bulldogs to the Valley’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, UNI, Belmont, Illinois State and Missouri State were announced as part of the 2023 Women’s National Invitation Tournament field.
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In addition to its four WNIT participants and Drake, UIC earned a spot in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, giving the MVC six participants in postseason tournaments.
The depth of the conference did not surprise Warren when asked about it during her press conference on Monday.
“It is something we have talked about all year long,” Warren said. “This conference is as good as it has been in my 16 years from top to bottom…What the Valley has done—hats off to all the teams in the Valley…The best is yet to come for our league and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Although the Panthers aimed higher with their hopes for the season, Warren said the Panthers are not going to take their WNIT bid for granted.
“We have a very disappointed group of young women,” Warren said. “Buy, what we have to be able to do and have the maturity to do is pick ourselves up—which we have been able to do all year long—and control what we can control. We have an opportunity to still be playing.”
“You talk about the WNIT. I do not know if you have had a chance to look at the bracket, but that is a very good bracket…That is a great tournament and it is going to be a very challenging tournament…When you look at this field of the WNIT, you better not feel sorry for yourself too long or you will be going home very quickly.”
Of the 64 teams competing in the WNIT, 13 appeared in the NCAA tournament last season including Nebraska, Oregon, Arkansas, Belmont, Illinois State and Missouri State.
To add to the stakes of UNI’s postseason participation, Warren said the success or lack thereof that awaits the Panthers could have for the future of the program.
“It is an opportunity to not only continue to play, but to get momentum for a very young team going into next season,” Warren said. “When you look at the history of the teams that have won the WNIT, nine out of 10 times those teams have made it to the NCAA the following year. So, there is a lot to still be playing for.”
UNI’s fifth straight trip to the WNIT and 14th postseason appearance in Warren’s 16-year tenure as the Panthers head coach tips off with a home matchup against Colorado State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“There is a lot to be said and we are going to continue to get back to work,” Warren said. “And, see if we cannot do a little damage in the NIT that will help us have some momentum going into the summer and then into next year. Winning is hard and winning consistently is really hard. There are no promises of what next year brings even when you have a lot of kids returning. So, we are going to enjoy this moment and see what we can do.”
