University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Sunday, December 4
Fort Collins, Colo.
2 pm
University of Northern Colorado
5-2
47
at
58
Colorado State
5-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Colorado | 13 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 47 |
| Colorado State | 10 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 58 |
Team Stats
NC
CSU
FG%
.333
.400
3FG%
.222
.269
FT%
1.000
.700
RB
39
35
TO
14
10
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG/PG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
@UNCBearsWBB Comes Up A Little Short Against Colorado State
12/4/2016 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball used a strong defensive effort to gain the early lead on Colorado State Sunday afternoon, but struggles on offense led to a late Rams comeback on the Bears.
How it Happened
Colorado State opened the game hitting its first two shots, but then the Bears turned up the defense, holding the Rams to a four minute scoring drought. The combination of a full court press from UNC and Savannah Smith drawing a pair of charges sparked the defense.
While Northern Colorado's defense was taking care of CSU on one end, Courtney Smith went to work on the offensive end. She hit all three of her shots to lead the team in the first quarter. Those six points all came in the paint giving the team a 6-2 edge inside after a quarter, and 13-10 overall lead.
Both UNC and CSU started the second quarter out strong, combining to score 13 points in the first three minutes of play, before scoring droughts for both teams set in. It was missed shots for the Rams as they went 1-of-5 over a three minute span. Meanwhile, for the Bears it was turnovers. The team had three in that same timespan.
Danielle Noble hit a three with 3:53 left in the half to extend the Northern Colorado lead to seven, but then it was all Colorado State after that. They ended the half on a 7-2 run, getting the UNC lead to 26-24 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, both teams were unable to gain much of an advantage as UNC led by as much as four and CSU would lead by no more than three in the quarter.
Colorado State took its first lead of the game since the first quarter at the 5:02 mark of the third thanks to a Hannah Tvrdy 3-pointer.
The teams continued to trade baskets through the rest of the quarter. Northern Colorado ended up with a one point lead when the horn sounded after three at 40-39, thanks to another late Noble three.
In the fourth quarter, it seemed as if someone put a lid on the Bears' basket as they missed their first nine shots. During that time the Rams took the lead and built it to seven at 47-40. Kianna Williams ended the drought, on a layup and foul to cut the CSU lead to four with 3:49 left.
Northern Colorado's offense mustered some rhythm, cutting the Colorado State lead to three inside of a minute thanks to a pair of Courtney Smith jumpers. That is as close as UNC would get as they were unable to score again, while CSU seales the game at the free throw line.
Game Changer
Colorado State was paced by the big double-double by Ellen Nystrom. The Rams forward scored a game-high 20 points and added in 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end. She also had eight assists to lead the team, as the offense ran completely through her.
Notable
- Sophomore center Courtney Smith recorded her first career double-double. She led the Bears with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- Only one other Northern Colorado player finished the game in double figures scoring in Savannah Smith, she had 10 points.
- UNC had a strong defensive effort Sunday, forcing 10 CSU turnovers, and also outrebounded Colorado State 39-35.
Quotable
Sophomore Center Courtney Smith
On Her Offensive Day
"I got really good passes during the game and felt like I needed to help the team out by knocking down some shots which I was able to do."
About Strong Defensive Effort
"We did a really good job scouting CSU, and had a good game plan. We had good rotation on defense to slow them down as well."
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Offensive Struggles
"The length and size of Colorado State seemed to bother us today. We ran them out of playing man against us, which is a positive, but we were not quit as prepared for the zone."
Employing the Full-Court Press
"They have just a size advantage over us, and we just didn't want them to walk it down and find the miss matches easily on us. I think we did a good job of making them run eight to ten seconds off the shot clock and it slowed their offense like we wanted."
What's Next?
UNC will be off until Saturday when they head south down I-25 to take on Air Force. Tip between the Bears and Falcons is set for 2:30 pm.
How it Happened
Colorado State opened the game hitting its first two shots, but then the Bears turned up the defense, holding the Rams to a four minute scoring drought. The combination of a full court press from UNC and Savannah Smith drawing a pair of charges sparked the defense.
While Northern Colorado's defense was taking care of CSU on one end, Courtney Smith went to work on the offensive end. She hit all three of her shots to lead the team in the first quarter. Those six points all came in the paint giving the team a 6-2 edge inside after a quarter, and 13-10 overall lead.
Both UNC and CSU started the second quarter out strong, combining to score 13 points in the first three minutes of play, before scoring droughts for both teams set in. It was missed shots for the Rams as they went 1-of-5 over a three minute span. Meanwhile, for the Bears it was turnovers. The team had three in that same timespan.
Danielle Noble hit a three with 3:53 left in the half to extend the Northern Colorado lead to seven, but then it was all Colorado State after that. They ended the half on a 7-2 run, getting the UNC lead to 26-24 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, both teams were unable to gain much of an advantage as UNC led by as much as four and CSU would lead by no more than three in the quarter.
Colorado State took its first lead of the game since the first quarter at the 5:02 mark of the third thanks to a Hannah Tvrdy 3-pointer.
The teams continued to trade baskets through the rest of the quarter. Northern Colorado ended up with a one point lead when the horn sounded after three at 40-39, thanks to another late Noble three.
In the fourth quarter, it seemed as if someone put a lid on the Bears' basket as they missed their first nine shots. During that time the Rams took the lead and built it to seven at 47-40. Kianna Williams ended the drought, on a layup and foul to cut the CSU lead to four with 3:49 left.
Northern Colorado's offense mustered some rhythm, cutting the Colorado State lead to three inside of a minute thanks to a pair of Courtney Smith jumpers. That is as close as UNC would get as they were unable to score again, while CSU seales the game at the free throw line.
Game Changer
Colorado State was paced by the big double-double by Ellen Nystrom. The Rams forward scored a game-high 20 points and added in 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end. She also had eight assists to lead the team, as the offense ran completely through her.
Notable
- Sophomore center Courtney Smith recorded her first career double-double. She led the Bears with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- Only one other Northern Colorado player finished the game in double figures scoring in Savannah Smith, she had 10 points.
- UNC had a strong defensive effort Sunday, forcing 10 CSU turnovers, and also outrebounded Colorado State 39-35.
Quotable
Sophomore Center Courtney Smith
On Her Offensive Day
"I got really good passes during the game and felt like I needed to help the team out by knocking down some shots which I was able to do."
About Strong Defensive Effort
"We did a really good job scouting CSU, and had a good game plan. We had good rotation on defense to slow them down as well."
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Offensive Struggles
"The length and size of Colorado State seemed to bother us today. We ran them out of playing man against us, which is a positive, but we were not quit as prepared for the zone."
Employing the Full-Court Press
"They have just a size advantage over us, and we just didn't want them to walk it down and find the miss matches easily on us. I think we did a good job of making them run eight to ten seconds off the shot clock and it slowed their offense like we wanted."
What's Next?
UNC will be off until Saturday when they head south down I-25 to take on Air Force. Tip between the Bears and Falcons is set for 2:30 pm.
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