University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, January 13
Pocatello, Idaho
2 pm
University of Northern Colorado
13-4, 5-1BSC
63
at
57
Idaho State
10-6, 2-3BSC
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Northern Colorado
16
10
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63
Idaho State
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Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Recap: Execution at Key Times Leads @UNCBearsWBB Over Idaho State
1/13/2018 7:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC's composure and execution late in quarters led them over Idaho State 63-57
POCATELLO, Idaho – Coming off their first loss of the conference season, Northern Colorado got back into the win column with a 63-57 victory over Idaho State Saturday afternoon. The combination of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith scored 34 points, 28 of those coming in the second half.
It was not only the Savannah combo that helped UNC improve to 13-4, 5-1 in the Big Sky but closing out quarters strong as well. The team went on runs of 14-2, 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 near the end of each quarter, respectively.
The Bears started the game slow trailing 12-2, making just one of its first six field goal attempts, and turning the ball over twice. UNC caught fire late, starting with a pair of Courtney Smith baskets jump-starting a 10-0 run. Savannah Scott hit a layup with eight seconds left to put the Bears up for the first time of the day at 16-15 to end the first stanza. The team made its last seven shot attempts of the quarter.
Northern Colorado hit another shooting slump in the second quarter, allowing the Bengals to go on an 8-0 run and lead 26-20 near the end of the first half. UNC's defense buckled down over the remainder of the quarter holding ISU scoreless over the final 2:49. Kianna Williams ended up scoring four points over the final 20 seconds to even the game at 26 going to the break.
The third quarter was a quarter of a lot of action and runs. UNC had the first of the 10 minute period with a small 5-0 streak to go up by five near the midway mark. Savannah Scott was a big reason for the lead as she scored seven of the team's first nine points in the half. Idaho State came back hard, driving it on UNC and getting to the free throw line to work on a 9-0 run and be up by four.
Just like the first two-quarters of the game, the Bears finished the third strong, with Bridget Hintz and Savannah Smith leading them in a 7-0 run to hold a 45-42 lead after 30 minutes.
That momentum from the end of the third came along with Northern Colorado as they quickly made it a seven-point lead with 8:09 remaining, but scored only one point over the next five and a half minutes. During the scoring drought for UNC, Idaho State went on a 9-1 run to lead 51-50.
It was all Northern Colorado after that though, they held the Bengals to just one free throw from the 2:28 to 0:27 mark. The nail in the coffin came from Savannah Scott when she hit a kick-out three from Courtney Smith to break a 52 all tie. The Bears never trailed after that, putting the game away at the free throw line.
What They Said
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Thoughts on the Game
"It feels great to come away with this win at Idaho State and end up with the split on the road trip. I loved the way the team bounced back from losing to Weber. I thought we played with a lot of composure and poise in key segments during the game. We didn't play perfect and had problems throughout it not scoring well at times. But we competed really hard and made the key plays to put the game away. I love that we did that this game because I don't think we did that against Weber. We didn't close quarters well or manage the game well against Weber, but we did that tonight. We would build a lead and then they would come back and build another lead and they would come back again, but we were very composed throughout and made the plays when we needed to."
On the Play of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith
"We had tremendous play from both Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. Scott made a huge three late in the game and Savannah Smith kept us in it with how she scored and how she handled their switching defense."
About the Team's Post Play
"I was really happy with our entire team. We had some breakdowns and our posts struggled with handling their switching, but both Courtney Smith and Bridget Hintz bounced back when we needed them to in the second half which helped us win the game."
Feelings on Where the Team Currently Stands
"It's a great spot to be in at 5-1 in the conference season with four of them coming on the road and facing adversity during those games. Now we have to keep it going and take on a tough North Dakota team on the road next Saturday."
Game Changers
The duo of Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott came up big for Northern Colorado as they scored a combined 34 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Smith's consistent attacking of the basket led to 17 points and eight attempts at the charity stripe. She also dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds in 39 minutes.
Scott scored 17 points of her own, including a back-breaking 3-pointer near the end of the game. She helped clean the glass tying Courtney Smith for a team-leading seven rebounds.
Stat to Know
Idaho State came into the game leading the Big Sky in rebounding, with a margin of +7.7, but the Bears bested the Bengals on the boards by an advantage of 31-26. Those extra rebounds were big as ISU shot 38.9 percent from the field and held to just one shot on a good amount of possessions.
Game Notes
- The win is the 70th for head coach Kamie Ethridge in her career.
- Kianna Williams scored in double figures for the fifth straight game with 11 points. She shot 4-for-7 from the field and made three of her four at the free throw line.
- UNC shot 46.8 percent compared to 38.9 percent for Idaho State.
What's Ahead
The team's three-game road trip wraps up next Saturday when they head to Grand Forks, North Dakota to face the University of North Dakota. This will be the Bears final trip to UND with them as a member of the Big Sky Conference as they head to the Summit League next season. Tipoff between UNC and UND is set for 1 pm MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB
It was not only the Savannah combo that helped UNC improve to 13-4, 5-1 in the Big Sky but closing out quarters strong as well. The team went on runs of 14-2, 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 near the end of each quarter, respectively.
The Bears started the game slow trailing 12-2, making just one of its first six field goal attempts, and turning the ball over twice. UNC caught fire late, starting with a pair of Courtney Smith baskets jump-starting a 10-0 run. Savannah Scott hit a layup with eight seconds left to put the Bears up for the first time of the day at 16-15 to end the first stanza. The team made its last seven shot attempts of the quarter.
Northern Colorado hit another shooting slump in the second quarter, allowing the Bengals to go on an 8-0 run and lead 26-20 near the end of the first half. UNC's defense buckled down over the remainder of the quarter holding ISU scoreless over the final 2:49. Kianna Williams ended up scoring four points over the final 20 seconds to even the game at 26 going to the break.
The third quarter was a quarter of a lot of action and runs. UNC had the first of the 10 minute period with a small 5-0 streak to go up by five near the midway mark. Savannah Scott was a big reason for the lead as she scored seven of the team's first nine points in the half. Idaho State came back hard, driving it on UNC and getting to the free throw line to work on a 9-0 run and be up by four.
Just like the first two-quarters of the game, the Bears finished the third strong, with Bridget Hintz and Savannah Smith leading them in a 7-0 run to hold a 45-42 lead after 30 minutes.
That momentum from the end of the third came along with Northern Colorado as they quickly made it a seven-point lead with 8:09 remaining, but scored only one point over the next five and a half minutes. During the scoring drought for UNC, Idaho State went on a 9-1 run to lead 51-50.
It was all Northern Colorado after that though, they held the Bengals to just one free throw from the 2:28 to 0:27 mark. The nail in the coffin came from Savannah Scott when she hit a kick-out three from Courtney Smith to break a 52 all tie. The Bears never trailed after that, putting the game away at the free throw line.
What They Said
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall Thoughts on the Game
"It feels great to come away with this win at Idaho State and end up with the split on the road trip. I loved the way the team bounced back from losing to Weber. I thought we played with a lot of composure and poise in key segments during the game. We didn't play perfect and had problems throughout it not scoring well at times. But we competed really hard and made the key plays to put the game away. I love that we did that this game because I don't think we did that against Weber. We didn't close quarters well or manage the game well against Weber, but we did that tonight. We would build a lead and then they would come back and build another lead and they would come back again, but we were very composed throughout and made the plays when we needed to."
On the Play of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith
"We had tremendous play from both Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. Scott made a huge three late in the game and Savannah Smith kept us in it with how she scored and how she handled their switching defense."
About the Team's Post Play
"I was really happy with our entire team. We had some breakdowns and our posts struggled with handling their switching, but both Courtney Smith and Bridget Hintz bounced back when we needed them to in the second half which helped us win the game."
Feelings on Where the Team Currently Stands
"It's a great spot to be in at 5-1 in the conference season with four of them coming on the road and facing adversity during those games. Now we have to keep it going and take on a tough North Dakota team on the road next Saturday."
Game Changers
The duo of Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott came up big for Northern Colorado as they scored a combined 34 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Smith's consistent attacking of the basket led to 17 points and eight attempts at the charity stripe. She also dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds in 39 minutes.
Scott scored 17 points of her own, including a back-breaking 3-pointer near the end of the game. She helped clean the glass tying Courtney Smith for a team-leading seven rebounds.
Stat to Know
Idaho State came into the game leading the Big Sky in rebounding, with a margin of +7.7, but the Bears bested the Bengals on the boards by an advantage of 31-26. Those extra rebounds were big as ISU shot 38.9 percent from the field and held to just one shot on a good amount of possessions.
Game Notes
- The win is the 70th for head coach Kamie Ethridge in her career.
- Kianna Williams scored in double figures for the fifth straight game with 11 points. She shot 4-for-7 from the field and made three of her four at the free throw line.
- UNC shot 46.8 percent compared to 38.9 percent for Idaho State.
What's Ahead
The team's three-game road trip wraps up next Saturday when they head to Grand Forks, North Dakota to face the University of North Dakota. This will be the Bears final trip to UND with them as a member of the Big Sky Conference as they head to the Summit League next season. Tipoff between UNC and UND is set for 1 pm MT.
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
NC
ISU
FG%
.468
.389
3FG%
.200
.214
FT%
.810
.706
RB
31
26
TO
16
13
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG/PG
/ Women's BasketballG
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