MOLINE, Ill. — As the fourth quarter commenced, the chant revved back up.
“U-N-I.”
Backed by a dominant second half that turned a first-half nail-biter into a late-game runaway, No. 2 seed Northern Iowa cruised into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals with a 69-39 win over seventh-seeded Bradley in Friday’s quarterfinals at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.
With the victory, the Panthers (23-7) will face the Missouri State-Evansville winner Saturday at 4 p.m.
After nabbing the conference’s sixth player of the year award earlier this week, Ellie Herzberg delivered a game-high 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting.