Women's Basketball Hunts Down Nevada Wolfpack, 68-52
Dec. 3, 2005
RENO, Nev. - The University of Northern Colorado women's basketball team held the Nevada Wolfpack to just 37 percent shooting en route to a 68-52 win on Friday at the Nugget Classic.
Freshman Jabrenta Hubbard went 5-of-10 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line to score a season-best 19 points to lead all scorers. Junior Jena Fosdick chipped in with 15 points (3-of-6 from 3-point range) and a team-high six rebounds.
The Bears (4-2) are off to their best start since playing a full Division I schedule. Northern Colorado's four wins have all come against full Division I teams; in the program's first two season's of the reclassification to Division I, the Bears racked up a total of three full Division I wins.
Northern Colorado got off to a rough start in the game, falling prey to the Wolfpack's opening 8-0 run. But the Bears clawed back and went on an 18-4 run to take an 18-12 lead with 11:35 left in the first half. A 3-pointer by senior Molly McGrath with 6:47 left in the half put the Bears up 23-16, but Nevada stormed back with a 6-0 run to pull to within one point of the lead at 23-22. Northern Colorado ran right back with a 6-0 run, capped off by a trifecta by freshman Alisa Christopherson. However, Nevada's Traci Graham made a 3-pointer as time expired to cut the Bears' halftime lead to 31-27.
At the start of the second half, neither team could pull away. Nevada (0-5) took its first lead since the first half at 39-36 with 12:12 left to play. But from there, the Bears' roar proved to be too much for the Wolfpack. Northern Colorado forced four Nevada turnovers and went up by as many as 18 points before settling on the final score. The Bears improved their first half mark of 35 percent shooting to 44 percent in the second half. Northern Colorado held Nevada to just 32 percent from the field in the second half, including just 1-of-9 from 3-point range (2-of-15 for the game).
Sophomore Dani Veal scored a career-best eight points while junior Danielle Hagen drained a career-high three 3-pointers.
The Bears move on to the championship game of the Nugget Classic, which will be at 4 p.m. MT on Saturday against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The game will be broadcast live on the Bears Radio Network (Flagship Station: 1310-AM KFKA in Greeley) and can be accessed free of charge on UNCBears.com.
Game Notes: Fosdick's three 3-pointers now puts her eighth all-time on the Northern Colorado 3-pointers made list with 92, which passes Kayla Flavin's mark of 90 ... Northern Colorado's 68-52 victory over Nevada was its largest margin of victory over a Western Athletic Conference opponent in program history ... the Bears' win over the Wolfpack is their first over a team from Nevada ... Northern Colorado won the turnover battle, 21-13, marking the first they have done so this season.
