University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
16-3,BSC 8-0
Weber State
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Strong Offensive Game Helps @UNCBearsWBB Extend Win Streak to Nine
1/21/2017 5:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado women's basketball shot 61.1 percent in an 88-79 win over Weber State Saturday Afternoon
OGDEN, Utah – Another big offensive game led UNC to its ninth straight win as they defeated Weber State 88-79 Saturday afternoon. The win moved the team to 16-3 overall on the year and still perfect in Big Sky play at 8-0.
How It Happened
Savannah Smith started right where she left off from Thursday night for UNC, hitting a trio of triples in the first minute of the quarter to get Northern Colorado out to an 11-2 lead.
The strong shooting effort continued for S. Smith and the rest of the team throughout the quarter, going 64.7 percent from the field and leading by as many as 14. By the time the horn sounded to end the first 10 minutes of play, the Bears led 26-16.
The second quarter was a complete team effort for Northern Colorado as no player had more than three points in it, but nine different players scored. The team's shooting stayed hot, ending the half with a 65.1 percent field goal percentage.
The Bears had 15 assists on 19 made buckets in the half, led by Savannah Scott's six and Krystal Leger-Walker's five, as UNC held a 15 point lead at the break.
It became the Courtney Smith show in the third quarter, as she scored 14 of her 24 points in it. She was 6-for-6 from the field as Northern Colorado took complete control of the game leading by 22.
With a 20 point lead going into the final quarter, the Bears saw its bench get some extended playing time during the fourth.
Even facing the large deficit, Weber State didn't back down. They cut the game to single digits in the final minute of play.
Game Changer
Northern Colorado's Smiths combined for 47 of the team's 88 points Saturday afternoon. Savannah Smith set the tone for UNC with a perfect shooting first half, scoring 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including four 3-pointers. She finished the game with 23 points, four rebounds, two assists a block and steal. While Savannah set the tone, Courtney helped put away the Wildcats. She missed just one shot all game, going 11-for-12 from the field to score a team-high and career-high 24 points. Fourteen of her 24 points came in the third quarter alone when she shot 6-of-6 from the field and hit on a pair of free throws. C. Smith had four rebounds, an assists, block and steal to finish out her stat line.
Notable
- After connecting on 14 shots from downtown Thursday, UNC hit another nine treys on Saturday.
- The Bears shot 61.1 percent from the field, the best shooting performance of the year.
- Northern Colorado dished out 25 assists in the game. Savannah Scott had a team leading eight, while Krystal Leger-Walker wasn't far behind with seven.
- Ten different Bears scored in the game.
- UNC owned the paint against Weber State outscoring them in it 36-22, they also out-rebounded WSU 33-29.
- An 8-0 start to conference play is the best in program history.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Thoughts
"The game today was a great display of team basketball. We came out on fire to finish out the road trip. Going on the road is difficult and you always get someone's best shot in the first quarter. I thought we did a good job of being the aggressor to start the game and established good offensive rhythm. We shot the ball incredibly well and had great ball movement. The first three quarters of the game might have been our best basketball of the season. Because of the way we played in the first three quarters, it was a very dominating win for our team. The exciting thing is there is only one team in the league 8-0. We will take the confidence from that and the challenge of what is up next and look to try and improve to 9-0."
About Courtney Smith
"The two players that stand out in a lot of ways were Courtney and Savannah Smith. What can you say about Courtney, going 11-of-12 and completely taking over in the third quarter. Any shot she got was a quality attempt and they couldn't guard her. She also had a good presence defensively in the lane handling anything coming at her. Having her playing so well in the post position made us incredibly hard to guard."
On Savannah Smith
"Savannah Smith was just tremendous for us to start the game. She just got it going early, taking shots in rhythm and the type of shots we want her to take. She was also great with the basketball against the press."
The Bears return home for a three-game homestand starting on Thursday night against Northern Arizona. UNC and NAU will tip-off at 7 pm. Northern Colorado won the first game between the two in Flagstaff 69-66.
