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@UNCBearsWBB Responds and Takes Down Weber State Thursday Night
2/16/2017 10:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC women's basketball defeated Weber State at home 86-62 Thursday night
GREELEY – The Northern Colorado women's basketball team answered the challenge that head coach Kamie Ethridge put on them Thursday night, defeating Weber State 86-62. After dropping two of its past three games, Ethridge challenged the team to come out and respond, and UNC did so in the form of a 21-0 run that put plenty of distance between them and Wildcats early on.
How It Happened
Weber State came out strong to begin the game hitting a couple threes to lead UNC 8-4.
It became all Northern Colorado for the next 10 minutes though, as the Bears went on a 21-0 run over the remainder of the first quarter and into the second.
Kianna Williams led the charge for Northern Colorado during it with seven points. She ended the half with 15 points overall. UNC led at the break 39-22, thanks to 50.0 percent shooting, compared to just 29.2 percent from Weber State.
Coming out of the locker room the Bears had a strong start, going on a 10-2 run, putting UNC up by 24 points.
Weber State tried to work its way back into the contest going on a few mini runs, but never cut its deficit below 16 throughout the remainder of the game.
Northern Colorado's Savannah duo, of Savannah Smith and Scott were a big reason for the comfortable lead throughout the second, combining to score 22 points. Scott had 12 of those points hitting 4-of-8 shots from the field and all four of her free throws. Savannah Smith put up 10 in the second and grabbed four rebounds.
Game Changer
The theme of the night was answer the challenge from Coach E, and Kianna Williams certainly did that. Williams sparked UNC's offense scoring seven of the team's first 11 points. She was a big reason the team went on that early game changing 21-0 run. Williams ended the night with season-high 16 points, hitting three treys and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
Notable
- Anytime a player scores almost 20 points it is impressive, but for Savannah Smith her 19-point performance was more impressive for how quiet it seemed. The guard known for hitting deep shots from downtown, made just two 3-pointers in the win. Instead she used her driving ability to fill up the bucket Thursday night. She also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.
- For the second straight game, UNC had 24 assists in the game. The Bears ball movement was big as the team hit 31 shots, going 47.0 percent from the field. Savannah Scott led all players with six total assists.
- Points off turnovers were big for Northern Colorado as they scored 23 points off of 17 WSU turnovers.
- Despite being in foul trouble for most of the night, Courtney Smith still made her presence known in the paint with a four-block game, after coming off a five-block afternoon against Eastern Washington last week.
- The Bears keyed in on stopping WSU from hitting shots from beyond the arc and achieved their goal, holding the team to just six 3-pointers. Coming into Thursday Weber State averaged 8.3 threes a game.
Quotable
Junior Forward Kianna Williams
On tonight's performance
"It just happened like that tonight. My teammates and coaches have been really supportive and just encourage me to take the open shots. I was told to be more aggressive and take the open shots when I have them."
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall thoughts on the game
"We were a little jittery in the first quarter and made a few mistakes, but I thought this team responded really well. We had their full attention all this week and prepared unbelievably well, especially at taking away their threes. We really got them out of rhythm by doing that."
About Kianna Williams tonight
"Kianna Williams was brilliant tonight and responded. It is possibly the best game that she has had for us while being here. On top of that she did it after having just such a bad game against Eastern Washington, and was told and shown it on film many times. I just loved her response both offensively and defensively."
What's Next?
The Bears host their final home game of the season on Saturday at 2 pm when Idaho State comes to town. ISU faced North Dakota Thursday night, losing to the Fighting Hawks 63-56.
