# 2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2020-21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers were led by head coach Tanya Warren in her fourteenth season, and played their home games at the McLeod Center as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2019-20 season with an 18–11 record, including 10–8 in Missouri Valley Conference play. They were scheduled to play Illinois State in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament, but the game, as well as the rest of the season, were canceled due to COVID-19.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Rose Simon-Ressler | 22 | G | 5'10" | Senior | Epworth, IA | Graduated |
| Kristina Cavey | 31 | G | 5'11" | Grad Student | Berthoud, CO | Graduated |
| Heidi Hillyard | 32 | F | 6'0" | Senior | Burlington, IA | Graduated |
| Abby Gerrits | 41 | G | 5'10" | Senior | Pewaukee, WI | Graduated |
| Kaitlin Winston | 43 | F | 6'0" | Freshman | Farmington, MN | Departed Program |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular Season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:30 pm, B1G+ | | at Iowa | L 81-96 | 0-1 | 22 – Finley | 8 – Gunnels | 5 – Kroeger | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (365) Iowa City, IA |
| November 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Creighton | W 55-52 | 1-1 | 12 – Rucker | 9 – Maahs | 4 – Green | McLeod Center (215) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 2, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State | L 68-85 | 1-2 | 13 – Kroeger | 6 – Tied | 4 – Rucker | Scheels Center (51) Fargo, ND |
| December 6, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | W 93-91 $^{2OT}$ | 2-2 | 18 – Gunnels | 11 – Gunnels | 5 – Wolf | Charles Koch Arena Wichita, KS |
| December 12, 2020* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | No. 21 South Dakota State | W 65-48 | 3-2 | 18 – Rucker | 8 – Wolf | 3 – Tied | McLeod Center (250) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 15, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Iowa State | L 61-67 | 3-3 | 12 – Tied | 9 – Green | 3 – Finley | McLeod Center (250) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 23, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Dakota State | L 63-74 | 3-4 | 12 – Finley | 6 – Maahs | 3 – McDermott | Frost Arena (235) Brookings, SD |
| Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season |||||||||
| January 1, 2021 2:00 pm | | Illinois State | W 82-71 | 4-4 (1-0) | 18 – Gunnels | 9 – Gunnels | 5 – Rucker | McLeod Center (519) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | W 72-67 | 5-4 (2-0) | 19 – Rucker | 14 – Gunnels | 3 – Rucker | McLeod Center (471) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 7, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 56-63 | 5-5 (2-1) | 18 – Rucker | 10 – Wolf | 3 – Kroeger | Athletics-Recreation Center (57) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | W 79-71 | 6-5 (3-1) | 32 – Rucker | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Athletics-Recreation Center (75) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 15, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri State | L 51-70 | 6-6 (3-2) | 11 – Rucker | 7 – Gunnels | 5 – Rucker | McLeod Center (462) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | L 60-64 | 6-7 (3-3) | 21 – Finley | 5 – Wolf | 3 – Tied | McLeod Center (492) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 22, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 95-69 | 7-7 (4-3) | 20 – McDermott | 5 – Maahs | 4 – Tied | Hulman Center (60) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 88-53 | 8-7 (5-3) | 13 – Gunnels | 8 – Maahs | 7 – McDermott | Hulman Center (85) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 27, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 79-96 | 8-8 (5-4) | 18 – Wolf | 5 – Tied | 4 – Rucker | Knapp Center (378) Des Moines, IA |
| February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | W 73-72 | 9-8 (6-4) | 25 – Finley | 16 – Gunnels | 5 – Rucker | Renaissance Coliseum (50) Peoria, IL |
| February 13, 2021 4:02 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | L 63-78 | 9-9 (6-5) | 19 – Rucker | 8 – Maahs | 3 – Rucker | Renaissance Coliseum Peoria, IL |
| February 19, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Loyola Chicago | W 78-51 | 10-9 (7-5) | 13 – Wolf | 12 – Wolf | 7 – Rucker | McLeod Center (325) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Loyola Chicago | L 64-66 $^{OT}$ | 10-10 (7-6) | 13 – Tied | 5 – Kroeger | 9 – Rucker | McLeod Center (533) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 24, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drake | L 56-77 | 10-11 (7-7) | 14 – Laube | 6 – Gunnels | 5 – Rucker | McLeod Center (349) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 67-31 | 11-11 (8-7) | 19 – Rucker | 11 – Tied | 7 – Rucker | McLeod Center (488) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 28, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 96-48 | 12-11 (9-7) | 17 – Finley | 8 – Maahs | 9 – McDermott | McLeod Center (479) Cedar Falls, IA |
| March 5, 2021 4:00 pm | | at Southern Illinois | W 67-56 | 13-11 (10-7) | 23 – Rucker | 12 – Gunnels | 4 – Maahs | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 pm | | at Southern Illinois | W 64-41 | 14-11 (11-7) | 14 – Maahs | 9 – Gunnels | 5 – McDermott | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Missouri Valley Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Bradley Quarterfinals | L 59-62 | 14-12 | 19 – Rucker | 11 – Maahs | 3 – Tied | TaxSlayer Center Moline, IL |
| Women's National Invitation Tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 11:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Dayton First Round | W 70-56 | 15-12 | 23 – Finley | 9 – Gunnels | 5 – Rucker | UW Health Sports Factory (115) Rockford, IL |
| March 20, 2021 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Creighton Second Round | W 64-63 | 16-12 | 20 – Maahs | 9 – Rucker | 6 – Finley | UW Health Sports Factory (91) Rockford, IL |
| March 22, 2021 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Saint Louis Quarterfinals | W 58-50 | 17-12 | 14 – Finley | 11 – Gunnels | 3 – Finley | UW Health Sports Factory (143) Rockford, IL |
| March 26, 2021 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Ole Miss Semifinals | L 50-60 | 17-13 | 16 – Rucker | 8 – Maahs | 5 – Rucker | My Town Movers Fieldhouse (600) Collierville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. Source: |||||||||