Veteran UNI women’s basketball team ‘really focused on offense’ this summer

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa women’s basketball coach Tanya Warren said Thursday that her veteran team has displayed a lot of development.

The Panthers are coming off a 23-win season that included a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference and second-round appearance in the WNIT.

UNI brings back three of its five starters from last season and six others who saw regular time in Warren’s rotation.

“I’ve been very, very pleased with this team. We have grown in so many areas,” Warren said during the MVC’s annual summer press conference. “Our leadership has been tremendous. The individual skill development in terms of the jumps individuals have made have been great.

“We really focused on offense.”

When it comes to unlocking another level from a familiar group, Warren pointed toward seven of the team’s 10 losses last season being decided in the last minute-and-a-half of the game.

“So being able to execute down the stretch, whether that’s getting a stop or making the right play offensively,” Warren said will be key. “That is a little bit of a mental toughness jump and I really, really saw that in this group this summer.”

UNI’s new faces: Freshmen and a transfer

The Panthers’ off-season additions include two freshmen and a transfer.

Five-foot-8 guard Bri Robinson from Lincoln High School in Nebraska was a four-year varsity letterwinner who led the Links to their first state championship appearance since 1991 last winter.

Forward Katy Reyerson from State Center also was a four-year varsity letterwinner for West Marshall who broke the program’s record for career blocks and finished second all-time in scoring (1,574 points).

UNI’s transfer addition — former Montezuma prep Shateah Wetering — was previously a member of Lisa Bluder’s Iowa Hawkeyes. The 6-1 forward has two years of eligibility remaining and Warren said she was attracted to her versatility.

“She runs well. She can put it on the floor and she can shoot the 3. And she can also post up,” Warren said. “She adds that versatility in our new offense that we put in this time a year ago in terms of her ability to put it on the floor, get downhill, make the correct pass. She’s a competitor. We recruited her out of high school, so for us the fit was a no-brainer.”

UNI’s 2023-24 schedule taking shape

The Panthers unveiled the home portion of their non-conference schedule earlier this summer, featuring games against three defending conference champions in Green Bay, South Dakota State and defending national runner-up Iowa.

“I’ve had so many people — even working out in the morning — say to me, ‘we bought season tickets so we can come to the Iowa game.’ And I try to tell them, yes that game is important, but every game is important,” Warren said. “We (schedule like) that so we can put ourselves in a position for an at-large (NCAA tournament) bid.”