University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, November 15
Greeley, Colo
7pm
University of Northern Colorado
3-0
58
vs
50
LSU
1-2
1
2
3
4
F
LSU
11
12
11
16
50
Northern Colorado
9
16
14
19
58
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Recap: Home Sweet Home, @UNCBearsWBB take down LSU
11/15/2017 11:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado women's basketball enjoyed its home opener, defeating LSU 58-50 Wednesday night.
GREELEY, Colo. – Head coach Kamie Ethridge set up her 2017-18 women's basketball team for a challenge in the non-conference schedule, and so far her team has been up for the test. Playing their third game in six days, Northern Colorado defeated SEC power LSU inside Bank of Colorado Arena 58-50 Wednesday night.
The Bears took what the Tigers gave them, as junior center Courtney Smith led the way with 26 points on 13 of 20 shooting from the field. LSU focused on Northern Colorado's trio of guards in Savannah Scott, Savannah Smith and Krystal Leger-Walker on the outside, giving C. Smith plenty of room to work inside.
The Bears opened the game with a quick 7-2 run as Leger-Walker opened the scoring with a 3, and C. Smith starter her big night with back-to-back layups. UNC's offense cooled down after that, allowing LSU to inch its way back into the game. The Tigers closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead UNC 11-9.
The teams tussled back and forth during the second quarter, tying four times and neither leading by more than four at any point. During the stanza, UNC found a match up it liked a lot in working the ball into the post to C. Smith as she scored 12 of her 26 points in the 10 minute period. Smith's strong effort helped the team take a 25-23 lead into the break.
Both offenses struggled coming out of halftime combining for just six points over the first three and a half minutes, but then the Bears got hot fast. UNC went on a game controlling 12-0 run over a five-minute stretch, featuring a 3-pointer from both Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. By the end of the run, UNC led 39-27, with a little over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Just like the first quarter, LSU closed the third strong with a 7-0 run to closing the gap to 39-34 heading to the fourth.
Northern Colorado led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, including a key three from Tiarna Clarke and Bridgit Hintz giving C. Smith a break doing work of her own in the paint. Louisiana State never gave in to the home Bears though, going on a 6-0 run in a minute thirty to cut the UNC lead down to three with 3:16 remaining.
Even with the quick response, Northern Colorado knew exactly who to go to, Courtney Smith. Smith made back-to-back layups to put the team up seven as both Krystal Leger-Walker and Savannah Smith found her with a pair of dimes.
The Bears put the game away when senior Kianna Williams cleaned up the offensive glass with a little over a minute left to put UNC up 54-48. Northern Colorado used its strong free throw shooting to close out the game hitting all four of its attempts in the final minute.
They Said It
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
About her team's spirit
"This team doesn't back down, they come out and compete to whatever challenge we give them every night. I was talking to our team after the DU game on Sunday and asked them who thought we would be 2-0? The senior said 'We did!'. They believe this is where they are supposed to be and shows how they are as leaders.
On if there were any halftime adjustments that led to the big run
We had great shots in the first half that just didn't go in. That's just part of playing a long team that gets you off your rhythm just enough. We keep on finding a way to win no matter what and are proud of that. Being able to find ways to win when things are not all going your way is something good teams do, and that is what we are doing.
Junior Center Courtney Smith
About her big night
"Their scout was to trap our guards in the Savannahs and Krystal and put pressure on them and I was able to roll off of that."
On the team's big third quarter run
"We just kept the pace up on offense and could tell they were starting to feel the altitude. We wanted to take advantage of it and run to push them and take control of the game."
Game Changer
Northern Colorado took exactly what LSU would give them on Wednesday night and that meant a lot of Courtney Smith. The Colorado native scored 26 points on 13 of 20 shooting and added in five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The 26 points are a season-high for her and tow off of her career-high.
Stat to Know
On paper, LSU should have dominated the pain in this game base on its size. That wasn't the case in the final box score, the Tigers out-rebounded the Bears 48-31, but UNC outscored LSU in the paint 30-26 and held them to just 12 second chance points.
Game Notes
- Coming off her Big Sky Player of the Week honors, Savannah Scott continued her strong start to the season. She scored 15 points for UNC with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Krystal Leger-Walker continues to impact the game in a multitude of ways, dishing out seven assists to lead the team, while also grabbing four rebounds and turning the ball over just twice.
- Wednesday night's win was the 60th in Kamie Ethridge's head coaching career.
- Teams always aim for a positive assists-to-turnover ratio, and UNC achieved that goal, while LSU did not. The Bears recorded 19 assists on 23 made baskets to nine turnovers. Meanwhile, the Tigers struggled with just four assists to 14 turnovers.
- LSU's Ayana Mitchelle recorded a double-double for her team with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
- Wednesday's game was the first against an SEC school for Northern Colorado.
What's Ahead?
The Bears stay at home for the weekend, hosting San Francisco on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off between UNC and USF is set for 2 pm.The Dons are 1-1 on the year after falling to Washington State 74-70.
Take advantage of the Sunday Funday ticket special by buying $3 tickets to the game in an online-only offer, or bring donations to the food bank and receive a $3 ticket. Fees may apply to any ticket purchases.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
The Bears took what the Tigers gave them, as junior center Courtney Smith led the way with 26 points on 13 of 20 shooting from the field. LSU focused on Northern Colorado's trio of guards in Savannah Scott, Savannah Smith and Krystal Leger-Walker on the outside, giving C. Smith plenty of room to work inside.
The Bears opened the game with a quick 7-2 run as Leger-Walker opened the scoring with a 3, and C. Smith starter her big night with back-to-back layups. UNC's offense cooled down after that, allowing LSU to inch its way back into the game. The Tigers closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead UNC 11-9.
The teams tussled back and forth during the second quarter, tying four times and neither leading by more than four at any point. During the stanza, UNC found a match up it liked a lot in working the ball into the post to C. Smith as she scored 12 of her 26 points in the 10 minute period. Smith's strong effort helped the team take a 25-23 lead into the break.
Both offenses struggled coming out of halftime combining for just six points over the first three and a half minutes, but then the Bears got hot fast. UNC went on a game controlling 12-0 run over a five-minute stretch, featuring a 3-pointer from both Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. By the end of the run, UNC led 39-27, with a little over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Just like the first quarter, LSU closed the third strong with a 7-0 run to closing the gap to 39-34 heading to the fourth.
Northern Colorado led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, including a key three from Tiarna Clarke and Bridgit Hintz giving C. Smith a break doing work of her own in the paint. Louisiana State never gave in to the home Bears though, going on a 6-0 run in a minute thirty to cut the UNC lead down to three with 3:16 remaining.
Even with the quick response, Northern Colorado knew exactly who to go to, Courtney Smith. Smith made back-to-back layups to put the team up seven as both Krystal Leger-Walker and Savannah Smith found her with a pair of dimes.
The Bears put the game away when senior Kianna Williams cleaned up the offensive glass with a little over a minute left to put UNC up 54-48. Northern Colorado used its strong free throw shooting to close out the game hitting all four of its attempts in the final minute.
They Said It
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
About her team's spirit
"This team doesn't back down, they come out and compete to whatever challenge we give them every night. I was talking to our team after the DU game on Sunday and asked them who thought we would be 2-0? The senior said 'We did!'. They believe this is where they are supposed to be and shows how they are as leaders.
On if there were any halftime adjustments that led to the big run
We had great shots in the first half that just didn't go in. That's just part of playing a long team that gets you off your rhythm just enough. We keep on finding a way to win no matter what and are proud of that. Being able to find ways to win when things are not all going your way is something good teams do, and that is what we are doing.
Junior Center Courtney Smith
About her big night
"Their scout was to trap our guards in the Savannahs and Krystal and put pressure on them and I was able to roll off of that."
On the team's big third quarter run
"We just kept the pace up on offense and could tell they were starting to feel the altitude. We wanted to take advantage of it and run to push them and take control of the game."
Game Changer
Northern Colorado took exactly what LSU would give them on Wednesday night and that meant a lot of Courtney Smith. The Colorado native scored 26 points on 13 of 20 shooting and added in five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The 26 points are a season-high for her and tow off of her career-high.
Stat to Know
On paper, LSU should have dominated the pain in this game base on its size. That wasn't the case in the final box score, the Tigers out-rebounded the Bears 48-31, but UNC outscored LSU in the paint 30-26 and held them to just 12 second chance points.
Game Notes
- Coming off her Big Sky Player of the Week honors, Savannah Scott continued her strong start to the season. She scored 15 points for UNC with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Krystal Leger-Walker continues to impact the game in a multitude of ways, dishing out seven assists to lead the team, while also grabbing four rebounds and turning the ball over just twice.
- Wednesday night's win was the 60th in Kamie Ethridge's head coaching career.
- Teams always aim for a positive assists-to-turnover ratio, and UNC achieved that goal, while LSU did not. The Bears recorded 19 assists on 23 made baskets to nine turnovers. Meanwhile, the Tigers struggled with just four assists to 14 turnovers.
- LSU's Ayana Mitchelle recorded a double-double for her team with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
- Wednesday's game was the first against an SEC school for Northern Colorado.
What's Ahead?
The Bears stay at home for the weekend, hosting San Francisco on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off between UNC and USF is set for 2 pm.The Dons are 1-1 on the year after falling to Washington State 74-70.
Take advantage of the Sunday Funday ticket special by buying $3 tickets to the game in an online-only offer, or bring donations to the food bank and receive a $3 ticket. Fees may apply to any ticket purchases.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
Team Stats
LSU
NC
FG%
.355
.434
3FG%
.111
.250
FT%
.556
.615
RB
48
31
TO
14
9
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
13
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
PG
/ Women's Basketball
G/PG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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