CEDAR FALLS - The applauses were plenty from University of Northern Iowa supporters Monday at the weekly coaches luncheon at Pepper's Bar & Grill.

The men's basketball team captured a share of its first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title with a 69-62 victory over Evansville Saturday night.

The men's indoor track and field squad collected its 10th straight conference crown at the UNI-Dome.

And the women's basketball team scored an impressive 76-73 overtime road win at first-place Illinois State.

"What a great weekend for UNI athletics," track and field coach Travis Geopfert said.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: After a span of seven losses in eight games, UNI seems to be finding its groove at the right time.

In their last four games - all against teams ahead of them in the standings - the Panthers have either won or been defeated in overtime. The latest road trip included a 56-51 overtime loss at Indiana State Friday before rebounding with Sunday's win over Illinois State on Senior Day at Redbird Arena.

"We probably played the best weekend basketball-wise we've had all year," assistant coach Nate Oakland said. "It was good to see our young kids really battle with some poise and composure.

"(Sunday), by far, was the biggest win we've had in at least two years."

Freshman K.K. Armstrong had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists against Illinois State, while Nicole Clausen delivered critical free throws. Oakland also pointed out the improvement of sophomore Erin Brocka.

"It feels like we're really making the turn for the better, especially with our young kids," Oakland said.

UNI (9-18, 7-9 MVC) plays its final two regular-season games this weekend, hosting Wichita State on Thursday and Missouri State on Saturday. The Panthers can lock up a sixth seed for the MVC tournament with one win.

"Our goal is to win two games," Oakland said. "The teams that get hot in March can really make some noise.

"And by having to just play three games in three days, we'll roll the dice with anybody in the league right now."

TRACK AND FIELD: Geopfert knew his men's program had a target on its back. The first-year head coach couldn't have been more pleased with the response.

UNI won seven of 17 events to earn its 10th straight MVC indoor title.

"I told the guys that there's not another coach in the conference, not another athlete in the conference that wants to see us win," Geopfert said. "We had to rally around each other and lay it on the line.

"We had a great meet, not a perfect meet. But when something didn't go our way, instantly somebody stepped up and filled the void."

The women finished sixth, but had two individual champions in Dani Stipe (pentathlon) and Rachel VanderHolt (high jump).

"We knew we probably didn't have a shot at winning the women's title because we're redshirting a lot of points this year," Geopfert said. "But this can catapult us into the outdoor season and into next year with the recruiting class we've got coming in."

UNI will split its roster up this weekend and run at Iowa State and Notre Dame in Last Chance meets, hoping to add more qualifiers for the national indoor.

The Panthers have eight provisional qualifiers for the men's national meet, while Stipe has provisionally qualified in the pentathlon.

"We've got a lot of people on the bubble right now," Geopfert said. "We've still got some work to do."

WRESTLING: Coach Brad Penrith's team didn't compete last week, but the squad did finalize its lineup for this weekend's NCAA West Regional at Greeley, Colo.

Sophomores Trevor Kittleson (149 pounds) and Jarion Beets (174) won wrestle-offs to earn the final two spots. UNI has won 23 straight regional team titles.

With the new qualifying procedures, the West Regional has only 13 automatic qualifying spots for the national meet - all 10 individual champions in each weight class and the second-place finishers at 149 pounds, 184 and 197.

"I think our guys are ready," Penrith said. "It's one of those years we've got to win out. It's not like the past where the coach can go into the wild-card meeting and pull a rabbit out of his hat.

"We could have five or six No. 1 seeds, but we all know that doesn't mean you automatically go. However, this group is ready to go."

Christian Brantley (285 pounds), sidelined with an injury the past few weeks, has been cleared and is scheduled to compete.

BASEBALL: UNI split a four-game series over the weekend in Shreveport, La., against Centenary. The Panthers took the opener 9-2 Friday and snared the finale 7-5 Sunday. In between, it dropped 3-2 and 6-1 contests.

Staff ace Nick Kirk pitched seven innings to get the victory in Game 1, while Deric Manrique went 4-for-5 Sunday to help UNI improve to 3-4 on the season.

Earlier in the week, Centenary had knocked off top-ranked Texas A&M.

"(Sunday) was a big swing game for us," UNI coach Rick Heller said. "We've got a chance now to get off to a good start. Instead of being 2-5, we're sitting 3-4."

UNI supporters have started a Web site (www.supportunibaseball.com) to help raise funds for the program, which needs to collect $1.2 million by the first week of April to keep baseball around for at least three more years. As of Monday evening, there was just more than $116,400 in pledges.

"The guys are keeping positive throughout," Heller said. "We're going to have some growing pains on the field because we're young. The attitude, though, has been great."

UNI plays at the Metrodome Wednesday night against Minnesota before opening a weekend series at Southeast Missouri State Friday.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com