University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Sunday, November 20
Greeley, Colo.
2:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
3-1 (0-0)
54
vs
51
San Diego
3-1 (0-0)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 9 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 51 |
| Northern Colorado | 12 | 9 | 19 | 14 | 54 |
Team Stats
USD
NC
FG%
.311
.317
3FG%
.286
.211
FT%
.529
.857
RB
52
42
TO
18
18
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG/PG
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
@UNCBearsWBB Uses Late Basket to Defeat San Diego
11/20/2016 5:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC women's basketball won another thriller Sunday afternoon, this time against San Diego
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball squeaked out another close game inside Bank of Colorado Arena Sunday afternoon, defeating San Diego 54-51. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, but the Bears were able to pull out the key plays at the key times down the stretch to earn the win.
How It Happened
Baskets were hard to come by in the first half as both teams shot below 25.0 percent throughout the first two quarters. While the ball wasn't going into the basket, rebound numbers were up as San Diego grabbed 31 boards to UNC's 25.
The Bears held a six point lead in first quarter following a Savannah Smith 3-pointer. That three stood as the difference between the two teams after one quarter, with UNC up 12-9.
USD started the second quarter out quick with a pair of baskets to go up one, but then went on a four minute scoring drought, allowing UNC to take a 17-14 lead.
Northern Colorado then went on its own scoring drought, for almost four minutes. A pair of Courtney Smith baskets ended the dry spell and put the team up by three. For the half, she ended with four points and six rebounds to lead the team.
San Diego closed the half on a slim 4-0 run and take a 22-21 lead into the break.
After the sluggish offensive first half, Savannah Smith got the Bears off to a quick start in the second half hitting a 15-foot jumper and then nailing a 3-pointer to recapture the lead for UNC.
It was then Savannah Scott's turn to spark the team's offense, starting with her defense.
During a two minute stretch she had five points, a rebound and an assist to put Northern Colorado up 36-31. The lead would end up at four by the end of the quarter for UNC.
Quickly in the fourth, the Bears lead grew to six points. USD, slowly but surely worked the Bears lead down to one with 5:26 left.
From the 4:28 mark on, the game featured four lead changes and one tie for another exciting finish.
The first key moment of the stretch run came at the 1:17 mark as Courtney Smith hit a jumper to even the game at 50, and then made a big block seconds later to keep the game tied.
Savannah Smith put her improvisation skills to work as the shot clock ran down. She drove down the left side of the lane, and ended up shaking her defender enough to hit the go-ahead basket with 18 seconds left.
Danielle Noble then forced a key jump ball to give the Bears the ball back, but ended up with a five second violation to turn it back over to the Toreros.
With a foul to give, Savannah Scott tried to foul Sydney Williams of San Diego before she got off a three, unfortunately the refs thought it was a tad too late, putting her on the line for three free throws with 2 seconds left.
Williams missed the first two and hit the third.
Scott hit a pair of free throws to put the Bears up three and a last second heave fell short by San Diego, securing the Northern Colorado victory.
Game Changer
Defense was the name of the game, as neither team was able to put together a solid offensive performance. Both Courtney Smith and Danielle Noble made key defensive plays late to push the Bears over the top. Smith who had just hit the game tying shot, made a huge block to keep the game at 50 and give UNC a chance at taking the lead. After the team earned the lead, Danielle Noble's strong on-ball defense against the in-bounder forced a jump ball that ran time off the clock and led to a tougher shot for USD, at the end of the game.
Notable
- The free throw line was key to the Bears win on Sunday, they hit 12-of-14 from the charity stripe, while San Diego hit just 9-of-17.
- Once again UNC went deep into its bench, playing 10 of the 11 players that suited up for the game.
- Courtney Smith was a force in the paint, blocking three shots, grabbing eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Statement About the Game:
"It is really exciting for our team to be 3-1 at this stage, to have beaten a tremendous San Diego team that returned a lot of its players from a deep run in the WNIT last year. I am excited about the fact that we have had four games now and played four distinctly different style opponents. We had to adjust very quickly to each game to what we were going to see. Defensively we did a very good job guarding their players and mucking up the game, as they did the same to us."
Halftime Message
"I told our young players that they can't be that casual with the basketball, or you can continue down this path and try to do things that are not successful. We have players that are young and got away with doing anything in high school. We just got too casual on our lay ups and whipped the ball around too much, turning it over.
Heading on the Road
"We needed these home games with this much youth. I am excited about where we are and for what we can become. The fun thing about playing though is going on the road and challenging yourself. We are excited about the opportunity to go on the road and become a team that can handle the challenge of the road since we have a lot of those ahead of us now."
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Savannah Smith
On the go-ahead shot
"I was just trying to get something going for the offense, knowing a basket would put us ahead. I was lucky enough to somehow lose my defender and make the shot to put us ahead."
What's Next?
Northern Colorado hits the road for the first time this year as they head to Texas for the Thanksgiving weekend. The Bears will play in a pair of games at the Texas-San Antonio Tournament. The first game will vs the host UTSA Roadrunners on Friday and then close out the weekend on Sunday against Eastern Michigan.
How It Happened
Baskets were hard to come by in the first half as both teams shot below 25.0 percent throughout the first two quarters. While the ball wasn't going into the basket, rebound numbers were up as San Diego grabbed 31 boards to UNC's 25.
The Bears held a six point lead in first quarter following a Savannah Smith 3-pointer. That three stood as the difference between the two teams after one quarter, with UNC up 12-9.
USD started the second quarter out quick with a pair of baskets to go up one, but then went on a four minute scoring drought, allowing UNC to take a 17-14 lead.
Northern Colorado then went on its own scoring drought, for almost four minutes. A pair of Courtney Smith baskets ended the dry spell and put the team up by three. For the half, she ended with four points and six rebounds to lead the team.
San Diego closed the half on a slim 4-0 run and take a 22-21 lead into the break.
After the sluggish offensive first half, Savannah Smith got the Bears off to a quick start in the second half hitting a 15-foot jumper and then nailing a 3-pointer to recapture the lead for UNC.
It was then Savannah Scott's turn to spark the team's offense, starting with her defense.
During a two minute stretch she had five points, a rebound and an assist to put Northern Colorado up 36-31. The lead would end up at four by the end of the quarter for UNC.
Quickly in the fourth, the Bears lead grew to six points. USD, slowly but surely worked the Bears lead down to one with 5:26 left.
From the 4:28 mark on, the game featured four lead changes and one tie for another exciting finish.
The first key moment of the stretch run came at the 1:17 mark as Courtney Smith hit a jumper to even the game at 50, and then made a big block seconds later to keep the game tied.
Savannah Smith put her improvisation skills to work as the shot clock ran down. She drove down the left side of the lane, and ended up shaking her defender enough to hit the go-ahead basket with 18 seconds left.
Danielle Noble then forced a key jump ball to give the Bears the ball back, but ended up with a five second violation to turn it back over to the Toreros.
With a foul to give, Savannah Scott tried to foul Sydney Williams of San Diego before she got off a three, unfortunately the refs thought it was a tad too late, putting her on the line for three free throws with 2 seconds left.
Williams missed the first two and hit the third.
Scott hit a pair of free throws to put the Bears up three and a last second heave fell short by San Diego, securing the Northern Colorado victory.
Game Changer
Defense was the name of the game, as neither team was able to put together a solid offensive performance. Both Courtney Smith and Danielle Noble made key defensive plays late to push the Bears over the top. Smith who had just hit the game tying shot, made a huge block to keep the game at 50 and give UNC a chance at taking the lead. After the team earned the lead, Danielle Noble's strong on-ball defense against the in-bounder forced a jump ball that ran time off the clock and led to a tougher shot for USD, at the end of the game.
Notable
- The free throw line was key to the Bears win on Sunday, they hit 12-of-14 from the charity stripe, while San Diego hit just 9-of-17.
- Once again UNC went deep into its bench, playing 10 of the 11 players that suited up for the game.
- Courtney Smith was a force in the paint, blocking three shots, grabbing eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Statement About the Game:
"It is really exciting for our team to be 3-1 at this stage, to have beaten a tremendous San Diego team that returned a lot of its players from a deep run in the WNIT last year. I am excited about the fact that we have had four games now and played four distinctly different style opponents. We had to adjust very quickly to each game to what we were going to see. Defensively we did a very good job guarding their players and mucking up the game, as they did the same to us."
Halftime Message
"I told our young players that they can't be that casual with the basketball, or you can continue down this path and try to do things that are not successful. We have players that are young and got away with doing anything in high school. We just got too casual on our lay ups and whipped the ball around too much, turning it over.
Heading on the Road
"We needed these home games with this much youth. I am excited about where we are and for what we can become. The fun thing about playing though is going on the road and challenging yourself. We are excited about the opportunity to go on the road and become a team that can handle the challenge of the road since we have a lot of those ahead of us now."
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Savannah Smith
On the go-ahead shot
"I was just trying to get something going for the offense, knowing a basket would put us ahead. I was lucky enough to somehow lose my defender and make the shot to put us ahead."
What's Next?
Northern Colorado hits the road for the first time this year as they head to Texas for the Thanksgiving weekend. The Bears will play in a pair of games at the Texas-San Antonio Tournament. The first game will vs the host UTSA Roadrunners on Friday and then close out the weekend on Sunday against Eastern Michigan.
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