Bears Save Biggest Conference Win For Final Home Game

BOXSCORE: Eastern Washington

GREELEY, Colo. - Using a 21-0 scoring run in the first half, the Northern Colorado women's basketball team pulled away and defeated Eastern Washington on the final home game of the season for the Bears, winning 80-58. With the victory, the Bears improve to 12-14 on the year and 5-7 in Big Sky Conference play, staying alive in the hunt for postseason action. Eastern Washington falls to 10-16 overall and 5-8 in league action, slipping one-half game behind NC in the standings.

At the 11:40 mark of the first half, junior Whitley Cox scored the 1,000th point of her career with the first free throw on a two-shot foul. She became the 14th player in school history to surpass the milestone and moved up to 13th on the all-time list after scoring 16 in the game. She now has 1,010 points, surpassing Danielle Hagen, who scored 1,008 in her four seasons.

A pleasant site for Northern Colorado fans was senior Jamie Schroeder on the floor for opening tip. The lone senior on the active roster, she played six minutes, getting three rebounds and two points and left the game to a standing ovation of 848 fans late in the second frame.

Sophomore forward Kate Kevorken established a new career-high with 29 points, hitting all seven of her free throws, sinking four three-pointers. The other Bear in double figures in the scoring column was sophomore Courtney Stoermer with 15 points. She also added a game-high five assists and four steals. Kevorken led the game with nine rebounds, narrowly missing her fourth double-double of the year.

"Our defense created the offense today," said Head Coach Jaime White. "Our press defense was very effective. Kate had a great day, and Courtney Stoermer played much better. It was nice to see Whitley get her 1,000th point at home. We know she has a lot left in her."

Eastern Washington was led by Nicole Scott with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Julie Piper and Kyla Evans each chipped in 10. Chene Cooper led the Eagles with four assists and two steals.

Not only did the Bears win the battle on the scoreboard, but they won in the rebounding column, getting 41 boards, compared to 36 for the top rebounding team in the conference.

Trailing 16-15, Northern Colorado exploded for a 21-0 scoring run, the longest of the season. Kevorken hit back-to-back layups and then Stoermer nailed back-to-back three-pointers. Cooper had a mini-streak of her own with five straight points and the Bears stretched the lead to 20, 36-16 with 1:31 on the clock.

Junior guard Lizzie Cooper tied her season-high in scoring in the first half with nine points, while both Kevorken and Cox managed double figures with 13 and 10, respectively. The Bears shot .467 from the field and .583 (7-12) from beyond the arc, while Eastern Washington shot just .310 from the floor and did not hit a triple (0-3).

Northern Colorado now travels for its final four regular season contests of the year, heading to Montana next week. The Bears play at Montana on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and have a 2:05 tilt with Montana State on Saturday in Bozeman.