2021-22 UNI Women's Basketball Season Preview
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When the NCAA granted a blanket extra year of eligibility to every player due to COVID-19, it became apparent that college basketball would have more returners than usual this season. But the growing number of transfers has still led to plenty of turnover for some teams.
Not the case for Northern Iowa, who lost no rotational players to transfer and just one to graduation. Add in the fact that UNI roster has five players from the same high school (head coach Tanya Warren believes hers is the only Division I team with such a claim), and few, if any programs, boast the level of continuity and familiarity that the Panthers enter the year with.
Warren isn’t taking anything for granted entering her 15th season, however. “Chemistry and culture is something you have to work at every single day,” she said. “I don't think that that is a given, even though [we] have everybody back.”
What is a given is the potential — Warren brings back 13 players from a team that finished 63rd in both the Her Hoop Stats rating and the NET last season and advanced to the semifinals of the WNIT.
The lone departure, forward Megan Maahs, started all 30 games last year and averaged 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. Warren will return to senior Cynthia Wolf to step into the starting lineup alongside last year’s leading rebounder Bre Gunnels in the frontcourt.
Wolf used her 17 minutes per game efficiently last season and will be ready to take on a bigger role. Her offensive rebound rate (9.1%) and block rate (4.4%) both led the Panthers, and her effective field goal percentage of 59.1% was fourth in the conference.
The backcourt rotation will be led by fifth-years Karli Rucker and Nicole Kroeger, senior Kam Finley, and sophomore Emerson Green. Three of them will log the official start in the box score, but Warren considers all four of them starters. “I’ve always said all along that we had seven starters [last year],” she said. “It’s the same with this team coming back — we have for sure six kids that could start.”
The head of the snake is Rucker, the three-time All-MVC first-teamer who has led the team in scoring and assists in each of the last three seasons. With her 28th assist this year, she’ll move into the top 25 in Missouri Valley Conference history in the category.
Rucker and Warren’s other five “starters” will be far from the only contributors on this deep roster. The Panthers bring back several underclassmen who have already played key roles early in their careers. Back is sophomore point guard Maya McDermott, who kicked off her collegiate career by leading the conference in assist rate as Rucker’s backup and earning Missouri Valley All-Freshman team honors alongside Green.
She’s joined by sophomore guard Kayba Laube, the sharpshooting MVC leader in points per scoring attempt who Warren says has significantly improved her conditioning.
There’s also redshirt sophomore Sara McCullough, a forward who Gunnels has seen growth in. “Sara had a really good summer,” Gunnels said. “You can tell she’s more confident.”
Then there’s junior guard Cailyn Morgan, a 38.5% three-point shooter a year ago who is only getting better.
“Cailyn Morgan has been taking big steps … You can tell the passion that she has for this game,” Finley said. “I mean, she's always texting me asking me if I can come with her and shoot.”
“If we had most improved right now it would definitely be Cailyn Morgan,” Warren added. “She's been terrific.”
Warren has been impressed with how the rest of her players have developed as well. “I can go on down the line — I've been very pleased overall with the jump that we've made individually,” she said.
For the lefty Finley, the focus of that development has been working on creating and finishing on her right side.
Gunnels has taken the summer to work on her dribble jumper. “Most of the time when I made a mistake [in the past] it was because I didn’t shoot the dribble jump shot or I wasn’t as confident,” she said. “I was trying to make sure that I improved that.”
Gunnels also hopes to average double figures in rebounds and make the MVC All-Defensive Team, both achievable goals for the versatile athlete who finished seventh in the league in defensive Win Shares last season.
“I think Bre has made a terrific jump, and I thought down the stretch [last year] she was very good for us on both sides of the ball,” Warren said.
The two new faces in Cedar Falls are freshmen guards Riley Wright and Anaya Barney, sister of redshirt junior Kiana Barney. On a team laden with established veterans, the freshmen have gelled early on.
“I sometimes can’t even tell that we have freshmen,” Gunnels said. “They kind of just blend right in.”
“[Anaya] is already improving … She’s getting stronger; she’s doing more things outside of her comfort zone,” Finley added of her former high school teammate. “And with Riley, I've definitely seen a lot of improvement with her since I've seen her play in high school as well.”
The freshmen join an experienced group that has the pieces to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, but Warren, who this offseason signed a contract extension through the 2026-27 season, is taking it day by day. “It’s cliché, but we really do talk about the process and one step at a time,” she said. “If COVID has taught us nothing, it's taught us to make sure we enjoy each moment of the day.”
As the longest-tenured coach in the Missouri Valley, Warren knows how tough the road will be. But it’s a challenge that she welcomes. “Look at top to bottom now … what everybody [in the league] is bringing back,” she said. “My goodness, you can’t help but be excited.”
It’s hard not to be excited about the prospects for the Panthers this season. The league is loaded, but the three-time MVC Coach of the Year will have her squad ready.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
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