University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, March 1
Portland, Ore.
1:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
21-7, 13-4BSC
57
at
50
Portland State
13-16, 7-10BSC
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Colorado
20
10
13
14
57
Portland State
15
15
2
18
50
Team Stats
NC
PSU
FG%
.377
.340
3FG%
.348
.000
FT%
.818
.800
RB
33
36
TO
21
23
STL
12
14
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG/PG
/ Women's Basketball
@UNCBearsWBB Clinches Bye With Win Over Portland State
3/1/2017 6:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado women's basketball clinched a bye in the Big Sky Tournament with its win over Portland State
PORTLAND – Northern Colorado women's basketball clinched a first round bye in next week's Big Sky Tournament with a 57-50 win over Portland State Wednesday afternoon. The Bears took advantage of 23 PSU turnovers on the way to the victory.
How It Happened
Northern Colorado went on the first big run of the game at 10-0, putting the team up 14-6. The Bears received a three from both Katie Longwell and Savannah Scott during the run.
A key moment for UNC came at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter when Scott picked up her second foul of the game, forcing her to sit out the rest of the half.
Courtney Smith was the story of the first quarter, going 5-of-5 from the field scoring 10 of UNC's 20 points in it as they led by five at the end of the first.
UNC expanded its lead to eight following a Savannah Smith 3-pointer, but the offense went cold after that allowing Portland State to get back in the game.
The Vikings held Northern Colorado without a point for six minutes and forty seven second, going on 9-0 run to take the lead at 30-28. Courtney Smith ended the drought, with a layup just before the half to even the game at 30 going to the break.
As the teams came out of the half, both offenses struggled to score during the first part of the third quarter, but then UNC's offense took off. The team ended the third on an 8-0 run, as the Bears outscore PSU 13-2 in the quarter.
Portland State shot 1-of-9 for quarter and had six turnovers leading to seven Northern Colorado points.
The Bears extended its lead to 17 points by the 6:40 mark of the fourth quarter, but PSU never gave in. They cut the UNC lead to single digits with two minutes less and were within six during the final minute of play.
Northern Colorado took care of business at the free throw line though to secure the 57-50 win.
Game Changer
Courtney Smith was the catalyst to Northern Colorado's offense all game long, starting the game hitting her first five shots, and finishing it with a game-high 21 points. Not only did she hit 10 of her 17 shot attempts she also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. It is her fourth double-double of the season and her career. She also had three assists as she played all 40 minutes for the team
Notable
- The win clinched the team a first round bye in next week's Big Sky Tournament. The Bears will look to secure a Top 3 seed on Friday with a win.
- Savannah Smith passed Kyleigh Hiser's mark of 74 made 3-pointers in a season during the game with her three makes, pushing her to 75. Smith finished the game with 13 points overall.
- Despite the foul trouble Savannah Scott had a strong game for UNC finishing with 10 points, hitting all five or her free throws, while grabbing seven rebounds and getting two steals.
- Neither team handled the ball well, combining for 44 turnovers. Portland State had 23 of those, leading to 27 UNC points off turnovers.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall thoughts on the game
"Today's game was not the most well-played game on our part. We did not play well defensively in the first half, and then fell apart against their zone in the second half. It was a hard fought win for the team, doing enough defensively to earn the win in the second half. I am really happy we were able to do that and maintain the lead in the second half. Portland State has proven to be a really hard place to win, and most of their games at home have been very close and even some of the top teams in the conference have come in here and lost. We can look at this game and not be satisfied with the way we played, but be satisfied that we came away with the win even by not playing our best game."
About important of clinching first round bye
"I couldn't be more excited for this team to earn the bye on the first day and to finish this league in one of those top four spots. It is a credit to this team's resilience and growth. It gives you such an advantage to get to Reno and get comfortable and watch games the first day."
On Courtney Smith's play
"One person that gave us great stability the entire game was Courtney Smith from the opening tip all the way to the final horn. She controlled the game inside with her double-double, and was able to find our shooters on the outside. Without her stability and well-played game I am not positive we would of come out with the win."
What's Next?
The Bears close out the regular season Friday night, when they take on Sacramento State at the Hornets home court. Tip for the game is set at 8 pm MT.
How It Happened
Northern Colorado went on the first big run of the game at 10-0, putting the team up 14-6. The Bears received a three from both Katie Longwell and Savannah Scott during the run.
A key moment for UNC came at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter when Scott picked up her second foul of the game, forcing her to sit out the rest of the half.
Courtney Smith was the story of the first quarter, going 5-of-5 from the field scoring 10 of UNC's 20 points in it as they led by five at the end of the first.
UNC expanded its lead to eight following a Savannah Smith 3-pointer, but the offense went cold after that allowing Portland State to get back in the game.
The Vikings held Northern Colorado without a point for six minutes and forty seven second, going on 9-0 run to take the lead at 30-28. Courtney Smith ended the drought, with a layup just before the half to even the game at 30 going to the break.
As the teams came out of the half, both offenses struggled to score during the first part of the third quarter, but then UNC's offense took off. The team ended the third on an 8-0 run, as the Bears outscore PSU 13-2 in the quarter.
Portland State shot 1-of-9 for quarter and had six turnovers leading to seven Northern Colorado points.
The Bears extended its lead to 17 points by the 6:40 mark of the fourth quarter, but PSU never gave in. They cut the UNC lead to single digits with two minutes less and were within six during the final minute of play.
Northern Colorado took care of business at the free throw line though to secure the 57-50 win.
Game Changer
Courtney Smith was the catalyst to Northern Colorado's offense all game long, starting the game hitting her first five shots, and finishing it with a game-high 21 points. Not only did she hit 10 of her 17 shot attempts she also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. It is her fourth double-double of the season and her career. She also had three assists as she played all 40 minutes for the team
Notable
- The win clinched the team a first round bye in next week's Big Sky Tournament. The Bears will look to secure a Top 3 seed on Friday with a win.
- Savannah Smith passed Kyleigh Hiser's mark of 74 made 3-pointers in a season during the game with her three makes, pushing her to 75. Smith finished the game with 13 points overall.
- Despite the foul trouble Savannah Scott had a strong game for UNC finishing with 10 points, hitting all five or her free throws, while grabbing seven rebounds and getting two steals.
- Neither team handled the ball well, combining for 44 turnovers. Portland State had 23 of those, leading to 27 UNC points off turnovers.
Quotable
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall thoughts on the game
"Today's game was not the most well-played game on our part. We did not play well defensively in the first half, and then fell apart against their zone in the second half. It was a hard fought win for the team, doing enough defensively to earn the win in the second half. I am really happy we were able to do that and maintain the lead in the second half. Portland State has proven to be a really hard place to win, and most of their games at home have been very close and even some of the top teams in the conference have come in here and lost. We can look at this game and not be satisfied with the way we played, but be satisfied that we came away with the win even by not playing our best game."
About important of clinching first round bye
"I couldn't be more excited for this team to earn the bye on the first day and to finish this league in one of those top four spots. It is a credit to this team's resilience and growth. It gives you such an advantage to get to Reno and get comfortable and watch games the first day."
On Courtney Smith's play
"One person that gave us great stability the entire game was Courtney Smith from the opening tip all the way to the final horn. She controlled the game inside with her double-double, and was able to find our shooters on the outside. Without her stability and well-played game I am not positive we would of come out with the win."
What's Next?
The Bears close out the regular season Friday night, when they take on Sacramento State at the Hornets home court. Tip for the game is set at 8 pm MT.
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