University of Northern Colorado Athletics
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@UNCBearsWBB Fight Hard, Fall Short to North Dakota
2/25/2017 4:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC women's basketball fought hard, but fell just short in a Big Sky battle against North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Northern Colorado women's basketball struggled scoring at times against North Dakota, falling to the Fighting Hawks 75-68.
How It Happened
The first quarter was a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than five points. UNC held that largest lead at 13-8 with 3:09 left on the clock, before UND closed the quarter out on a 9-3 run to lead 17-16.
North Dakota's defense increased in the second quarter, along with the Bears missing some wide open shots as they went scoreless for over three minutes allowing UND to go up by 10. The Fighting Hawks held the lead at the half at 37-29.
During the third quarter, Northern Colorado saw another scoring drought, this one of a little over four minutes. North Dakota once again extended its lead during the Bears drought, this time to 15, and end the final ten minutes of play with a 52-40 lead.
The Bears didn't back down, cutting the UND lead to five at 57-52 with 6:59 remaining. North Dakota responded with an 8-0 run though putting away any hopes of a Northern Colorado comeback. UNC never gave up though, continuing to show fight and cut the lead to five in the final minute, but not closer than that.
Game Changer
North Dakota senior guard, Makailah Dyer had a big game for her team finishing with a double-double. She scored a team-high 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Notable
- Savannah Scott had the best performance of any Bear in the game, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and hitting all five of her free throws. She also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
- Katie Longwell had a big night off the bench, hitting five of the team's six made 3-pointers in the game, finishing the game with 18 points in 27 minutes. She also had four assists.
- North Dakota held UNC to 35.8 percent shooting from the field and 20.0 percent from downtown. The Fighting Hawks also outrebounded the Bears 53-29
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
"I am not at all disappointed in our effort. People on the outside may look at it and see we dropped another game, but I look at it as a great opportunity for us when we were able to stay and grind in a tough game on a night when our best player didn't shoot the ball well, two of our starters didn't score and having to manage the foul trouble we had in the first half. To be in the game with some of the stats and key player that didn't have their best performance, and to know we still had a shot late in the fourth down six with the ball makes me proud with the way we fought to stay in it."
"To only turn the ball over five times was a key for us. It showed that even when we have a poor shooting night we can still find ways to be in the game. I am excited this game showed what we can do even when things do not go our way. We showed some great fight in a tough environment that will set us up for success in the next few weeks."
"Both Savannah Scott and Katie Longwell had good games for us. Savannah always draws one of the toughest defenders in every game we play and still finds a way to impact the game for us. Today she didn't live by the three, but drove to the basket, and got to the foul line showing how she has grown and takes what the defense gives her. Katie Longwell sparked us off the bench and made senior plays when we needed them. Her shooting kept us and got us back into the game when it was needed."
What's Next?Northern Colorado continues its three-game road trip to end the regular season when they head to Portland State on Wednesday.The Bears and Vikings will tip-off at 1 pm MT.
