Recap: @UNCBearsWBB Outlasts BYU in Overtime 79-74

Thursday, November 30

Greeley, Colo

7pm

University of Northern Colorado

5-2

BYU

3-3

OT 1

BYU

Northern Colorado

11/30/2017 11:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Northern Colorado women's basketball used big games from Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith to outlast BYU Thursday night

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball used a strong outing from its Savannahs, Scott and Smith, to outlast BYU Thursday night inside Bank of Colorado Arena 79-74 in overtime. The duo combined for 45 points to help the Bears improve to 5-2 on the year and dropping Brigham Young to .500 at 3-3.

(11/30/2017) WBB vs BYU

BYU started the game strong going inside leading to a 10-0 run and early 10-2 lead. The Cougars first five baskets of the game all came inside the paint. Northern Colorado's struggles shooting from last week continued into the early stages of Thursday's game. The team shot just 14.3 percent from the field including missing on all nine 3-point attempts in the first quarter.

Free throws kept UNC close during the opening 10 minute period, as they went 4-for-4 from the line. With the poor shooting early on for the Bears, the Cougars had the opportunity to open up a big lead, but could not hold onto the ball committing eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes. Those turnovers allowed UNC to only trail 14-8 at the end of the quarter.

Northern Colorado finally broke out of its shooting slump in the second quarter as Kianna Williams opened up the scoring with a 3 to cut the BYU lead in half. Williams' trey started a 9-1 run for UNC to begin the quarter and take its first lead since early in the first at 17-15.

The teams began to trade baskets until Savannah Smith heated up to end the half. She hit a trio of 3-pointers over the final 2:17 of the half, including a pair from NBA range to give UNC a 33-27 lead at the half. Smith scored 11 of her 20 points in the quarter.

Coming out of the break, BYU held the early advantage, going on a 10-2 run once again. The third quarter featured five ties and two lead changes as neither team could go ahead by more than five.

The early run allowed the Cougars to hold the advantage throughout a majority of the quarter, but UNC did tie up the game five times. The duo of Savannah Scott and Courtney Smith combined for 18 points for UNC during the quarter. A Tiarna Clarke and-1 at the end of stanza gave UNC the slim 53-52 advantage heading into the fourth.

After the two teams combined for 83 points over the second and third quarter, neither team could buy a basket in the fourth. UNC held BYU scoreless until the 4:24 mark of the fourth. During that time, the Bears extended their lead out to only seven points as they struggled offensively as well.

Once Brigham Young found the bottom of the net, they closed the quarter out in a furry, out-scoring Northern Colorado 11-4 in the final 4:24. Cassie Devashrayee tied the game at 63 with 1:09 left and had the chance to give BYU a one-point lead by being fouled, but missed the free throw. Both teams ended up turning the ball over in the final minute to lead to overtime.

An aggressive drive from Savannah Scott opened the scoring in overtime, leading to a pair of her 10 free throws on the night to give UNC the edge. Northern Colorado extended its lead to two possessions when Savannah Smith earned a trip to the charity stripe, but then the teams started to exchange baskets.

While BYU made shots inside, it was a big 3 from Kianna Williams that really helped put the Cougars away. The Savannah duo combined for 11 of UNC's 16 overtime points to earn the win.

What They Said
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge

About the mindset, once you gain a lead in overtime
"In overtime when we got the stop and then Scotty was fouled and hits her shots we go up two and you start playing situational basketball. Once we went up five you don't want to tell them to slow down and stop, but to take care of the ball and work the clock. We didn't do that to end the fourth quarter and that allowed BYU to get back into the game and force overtime."

On Savannah Scott's performance
"I loved the way she bounced back after such a tough week. Savannah wants to win so badly and wants to win for her teammates more than anything. She works so hard and calls us and asks to get extra shoot in and work on her game. She was so upset after last week to almost being in tears and once her shot started to go tonight, that was just what we needed to see her shot to go through."

Senior Guard Savannah Scoot

Getting out of the shooting woes
It has helped to be home to get to the gym and shoot on your own. Tonight we attacked the free throw line more than we did last week when we were on the road. That always helps and we hit rhythm shots.

Game Changer
Savannah Scott wasn't going to let another poor offensive night ruin the day for her and her teammates Thursday night. The senior attacked the basket and scored inefficient ways on her way to a 25 point performance. Scott went 6-for-11 from the field including three 3-pointers. She also helped get BYU into foul trouble off the drive and attacking the basket. She earned a trip to the line 10 times, connecting on all 10 of her attempts. The Campbell, California native added in three assists, three steals and two rebounds, both offensive, to her stat line.

Stat to Know
Northern Colorado entered the night ranked third in the NCAA in free throw shooting at 82.8 percent and it showed on Thursday. BYU fouled UNC 26 times, leading to 25 free throw attempts. The Bears ended up connecting on 23 of those 25 attempts for a 92.0 percentage.

Game Notes
- Savannah Smith was not far behind teammate Savannah Scott in scoring, finishing with 20 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists and stole the ball twice.
- Savannah Scott, Savannah Smith and Kianna Williams all finished with over 40 minutes of playing time for the Bears. Smith led the way with 43 minutes.
- BYU tried to use its height to its advantage to defeat UNC, scoring 36 points in the paint and out-rebounding the Bears 45-31. Six foot one Amanda Wayment had a double-double for the Cougars with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
- Northern Colorado once again did a good job forcing more mistakes by its opponent than themselves, turning the ball over 13 times to 19 by BYU.
- The overtime win is the first OT win of the season for Northern Colorado. Under Ethridge, UNC is 5-2 in games that go to overtime.
- Despite shooting 14.3 percent in the first quarter, UNC ended up shooting 40.0 percent for the game.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado continues its homestand on Sunday, December 3 when another WCC opponent comes to town in Pacific. The Bears and Tigers tip-off at 2 pm MT.

Tickets are on sale now, starting as low as $3 when you purchase online with the promo code FUNDAY, some fees may apply.