University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
9-3 (1-0)
Sacramento State
4-8 (0-1)
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
@UNCBearsWBB Outlasts Sacramento State to Open Big Sky Play With Win
12/29/2016 10:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado women's basketball outlast Sacramento State Thursday night 95-88 to open Big Sky play
GREELEY, Colo. – Points were a plenty inside Bank of Colorado Arena Thursday night as Northern Colorado started Big Sky play with an exciting 95-88 win over Sacramento State.
How it Happened
Per usual, when taking on Sacramento State, it was a frantic pace all-night as both teams got up and down the court. With the pace, came 14 turnovers in the first quarter between the two teams.
UNC was able to take advantage of the turnovers by the Hornets, going on an 8-0 run during the middle part of the beginning session to build a 10-5 lead. The run was fueled by a trio of Courtney Smith field goals. She was one of three Bears to score in the quarter, along with Kianna Williams and Danielle Noble. Each player had six points.
Sacramento State worked the Northern Colorado lead down to three, 18-15 as the horn sounded hitting a couple of threes late in the quarter.
After getting the winter break rust off during the first quarter, the offenses exploded for 56 combined points in the second. The scoring barrage began when Sacramento State went on a 10-0 run to give them a one point edge.
The teams proceeded to trade a pair of 6-0 and 5-0 runs through the middle part of the quarter to keep the Hornets lead at one. Sac State closed the half out strong though with an 8-0 run over the last 1:19 to take a 49-40 lead to the locker room.
Northern Colorado quickly erased that nine point deficit to begin the second half, and ended up taking the lead thanks to a 14-0 run in the first 2:05 of the half. C. Smith and Savannah Scott, had 11 of those 14 points for the Bears, and Scott had an assist on the lone basket that didn't end in herself or Smith scoring.
The teams played in a one possession game for the next few minutes, before another run by UNC, this one of the 10-0 variety. Savannah Smith sparked the rally by hitting a pair of threes to grow the team's led to double figures.
The Bears ended up scoring 31 points in the third, and held a 71-65 advantage heading to the final 10 minutes of play
Sacramento State and Northern Colorado traded baskets through the beginningg parts of the quarter, until Scott went on a 4-0 personal run to put the team up nine with 4:56 remaining.
Sac State pulled within four a few times during the rest of the game, but never got any closer than that as the Bears secured the win.
Game Changer
The duo of Courtney Smith and Savannah Scott had huge games for Northern Colorado, as they both ended the game with their second double-doubles of the year. Smith led the team in both points and rebounds, with 23 and 10, respectively. She missed just one shot all night, going 10-for-11 from the field and sinking all three of her free throw attempts. Meanwhile, Scott added in 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Notables
-Ball movement was key for the Bears against Sacramento State ending the night with 33 assists on 36 made baskets. Those 33 assists are a Division I record for the program. Savannah Scott's 11 were a career-high, and second time in her career she has recorded double digit assists.
- The 95 points scored are a season-high for the Bears. Six different UNC players finished the night in double figures. They were Courtney Smith (23), Danielle Noble (16), Kianna Williams (14), Savannah Scott (14), Savannah Smith (14) and Katie Longwell (11). The 16 points for Noble were a career-high.
- Northern Colorado held Sacramento State to just two made 3-pointers in the second half, and nine for the game. Coming into Thursday night the Hornets were averaging 12 made threes a game.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Thoughts on the Game
"You just can't simulate or duplicate what they do. It just takes some time to get comfortable against them. Even our older players who have seen them before struggled early on against their pace and style of play. The fact that we regrouped and changed our personnel groups at halftime helped us. We are still too finesse at times and get enamored with the three point line. The way we came out in the defensively and the defensive rebounding in the second half really helped us."
Looking Ahead to Portland State
"Saturday will be a completely different game than tonight. Portland State is mostly a 2-3 zone team, and better than they were last year, and continuing to get better. That is why you want to play so many different styles in the non-conference schedule so it can prepare you for conference play and all the different styles that it brings."
Sophomore Forward Danielle Noble
On Increased Playing Time
"I know my role and play to my strengths and to my teammates strengths. I am able to find more of a rhythm this year which has helped me become more comfortable on the court."
Sophomore Forward Courtney Smith
About Continued Strong Play
"I have been able to get fairly easy baskets and going into rebound when I remember too. I just need to keep on being assertive on offense."
The Keys to Second Half Run
"At half we went in and knew we were better than what we had showed in the first half. Playing against their pace can be tough to get into a rhythm. So coming into the second half we knew what they were going to do and had a plan of making easier shots and not rely on the three as much, along with rebounding better, and that helped us win the game."
Junior Guard Savannah Scott
About the Challenging Style Sacramento State Brings
"It feels good to get the win today. This is a tough team to prepare for no matter what and we knew that. The closest we saw to this was Pacific, but even then they (Sacramento State) are completely different."
What's Next?
Northern Colorado will look to close out the opening weekend of Big Sky play with a 2-0 record when they host Portland State at noon on Saturday inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The Vikings come to Greeley after falling to North Dakota on Thursday 65-61 in Grand Forks.
