University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, November 16
Greeley, Colo.
7pm
University of Northern Colorado
1-2
74
vs
66
Denver
2-1
1
2
3
4
F
Denver
12
26
16
12
66
Northern Colorado
18
23
16
17
74
Photo by: Hunter Wilson
@UNCBearsWBB picks up first win in celebratory night
11/16/2018 10:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC women's basketball earned its first win of the 2018-19 season over Denver 74-66
Friday night began and ended in celebration inside Bank of Colorado Arena, and had some very entertaining basketball in between as Northern Colorado defeated Denver 74-66. The Bears started the night raising their banners from last season's Big Sky titles and NCAA appearance and celebrated both the first win of the season and head coach Jenny Huth's first career win.
The victory was not the only first of the night, as Krystal Leger-Walker recorded her first career 20 point game with a career-high 22, while Bridget Hintz and Ali Meyer each had their first career double-doubles. Hintz finished the game with 11 points and career-best 14 rebounds, while Meyer had highs scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
It was Northern Colorado's execution in the fourth quarter that carried them to victory Friday night. Entering the final 10 minutes of play up 57-54, UNC went to work on both ends of the floor. Denver took the lead early in the fourth quarter on a pair of Syndey Mech free throws, but a Krystal Leger-Walker layup put the Bears back up by one right after and they never looked back.
UNC used an 11-2 run from the 6:33 mark to 2:20 to salt the game away. During the run, Northern Colorado limited DU to one shot each time down the floor as they went 1-for-6 in that stretch and turned the ball over once.
The first three quarters were a back and forth affair featuring five ties and eight lead changes.
UNC was out to an 18-12 after the first quarter as the team limited the Pioneers to going 0-for-4 from behind the arc, which had been a key during their early season success. All five Northern Colorado starters scored in the first quarter led by Bridget Hintz's five points.
DU started the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take lead, but a Leger-Walker layup ended the scoring drought for UNC. That started a big quarter for Leger-Walker as she scored nine points and entered the half tied for her career-high with 13 points.
While Denver made four 3s in the quarter to put pressure on the Bears, back-to-back 3-pointers by Leger-Walker and Savannah Smith helped UNC lead 41-38 at the half.
UNC struggled shooting in the third quarter going 26.3 percent from the field, but still found a way to stay ahead of the Pioneers entering the fourth quarter where they executed well to earn the win.
What They Said
Head Coach Jenny Huth
Overall thoughts
Overall, I thought we really used our experience from the first two games and did some things defensively that were great. The rebounding margin was great and exactly what I want it to be. Having bigs inside that are productive and getting double-doubles is huge. I also thought we defended the 3-point line relatively well and took away their transition baskets. Overall, Krystal getting into that scorer's mentality as well as her being a facilitator will continue to help her as the season goes along. It was just a great well-rounded team effort.
Junior guard Krystal Leger-Walker
What was the key to the big scoring night?
I just really put credit in my team for getting to the right spots and running through our plays effectively. When you have teams so focused on people like Savannah (Smith) it helped open up shots for me.
What helped take Denver out of their game offensively?
I knew she was a catch and shoot player and I didn't want to leave her side. I made sure to do that and was lucky she didn't make any on me.
Senior forward Ali Meyer
About the importance of crashing the boards
It was huge to be in the positives on rebound margin. It was one of our goals in the game plan to win that battle.
On how the lessons from the first two games helped tonight
We played against some really tough competition our first two games against CU and LSU. It made us lock in on offense and be in the right places and find the right space. Coming out of those two games we keyed into that and paid attention to the detail.
Junior center Bridget Hintz
About the big rebounding night
Winning the offensive boards was a goal of ours tonight. We wanted to rebound 40 percent of our misses and we were able to do that.
What the first win of the season feels like
It feels really good to get the first win. It was great to have all the fans and support tonight and to come out with the win. I think we did a good job with the scout and beat a good team.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado dominated the glass, outrebounding Denver 50-32. Bridget Hintz and Ali Meyer combined for 26 of the team's 50 rebounds including six offensive board from Hintz.
Game Notes
- Krystal Leger-Walker scored her 22 points by shooting 9-of-12 from the field including three 3-pointers and a free throw. She also had six assists and four rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
- Savannah Smith ended up with a quiet 19 points on Friday, also cleaning the glass with seven rebounds and finding open teammates for six assists. Smith's 19 points helped her crack the top 10 all-time scoring list at UNC.
- Northern Colorado held Denver to two made field goals in the fourth quarter and 36.9 percent shooting in the game.
What's Ahead?
UNC embarks on a three-game road trip traveling starting by staying in state to play Colorado State next Tuesday night. The Bears and Rams tip-off at 7 pm.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
The victory was not the only first of the night, as Krystal Leger-Walker recorded her first career 20 point game with a career-high 22, while Bridget Hintz and Ali Meyer each had their first career double-doubles. Hintz finished the game with 11 points and career-best 14 rebounds, while Meyer had highs scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
It was Northern Colorado's execution in the fourth quarter that carried them to victory Friday night. Entering the final 10 minutes of play up 57-54, UNC went to work on both ends of the floor. Denver took the lead early in the fourth quarter on a pair of Syndey Mech free throws, but a Krystal Leger-Walker layup put the Bears back up by one right after and they never looked back.
UNC used an 11-2 run from the 6:33 mark to 2:20 to salt the game away. During the run, Northern Colorado limited DU to one shot each time down the floor as they went 1-for-6 in that stretch and turned the ball over once.
The first three quarters were a back and forth affair featuring five ties and eight lead changes.
UNC was out to an 18-12 after the first quarter as the team limited the Pioneers to going 0-for-4 from behind the arc, which had been a key during their early season success. All five Northern Colorado starters scored in the first quarter led by Bridget Hintz's five points.
DU started the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take lead, but a Leger-Walker layup ended the scoring drought for UNC. That started a big quarter for Leger-Walker as she scored nine points and entered the half tied for her career-high with 13 points.
While Denver made four 3s in the quarter to put pressure on the Bears, back-to-back 3-pointers by Leger-Walker and Savannah Smith helped UNC lead 41-38 at the half.
UNC struggled shooting in the third quarter going 26.3 percent from the field, but still found a way to stay ahead of the Pioneers entering the fourth quarter where they executed well to earn the win.
What They Said
Head Coach Jenny Huth
Overall thoughts
Overall, I thought we really used our experience from the first two games and did some things defensively that were great. The rebounding margin was great and exactly what I want it to be. Having bigs inside that are productive and getting double-doubles is huge. I also thought we defended the 3-point line relatively well and took away their transition baskets. Overall, Krystal getting into that scorer's mentality as well as her being a facilitator will continue to help her as the season goes along. It was just a great well-rounded team effort.
Junior guard Krystal Leger-Walker
What was the key to the big scoring night?
I just really put credit in my team for getting to the right spots and running through our plays effectively. When you have teams so focused on people like Savannah (Smith) it helped open up shots for me.
What helped take Denver out of their game offensively?
I knew she was a catch and shoot player and I didn't want to leave her side. I made sure to do that and was lucky she didn't make any on me.
Senior forward Ali Meyer
About the importance of crashing the boards
It was huge to be in the positives on rebound margin. It was one of our goals in the game plan to win that battle.
On how the lessons from the first two games helped tonight
We played against some really tough competition our first two games against CU and LSU. It made us lock in on offense and be in the right places and find the right space. Coming out of those two games we keyed into that and paid attention to the detail.
Junior center Bridget Hintz
About the big rebounding night
Winning the offensive boards was a goal of ours tonight. We wanted to rebound 40 percent of our misses and we were able to do that.
What the first win of the season feels like
It feels really good to get the first win. It was great to have all the fans and support tonight and to come out with the win. I think we did a good job with the scout and beat a good team.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado dominated the glass, outrebounding Denver 50-32. Bridget Hintz and Ali Meyer combined for 26 of the team's 50 rebounds including six offensive board from Hintz.
Game Notes
- Krystal Leger-Walker scored her 22 points by shooting 9-of-12 from the field including three 3-pointers and a free throw. She also had six assists and four rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
- Savannah Smith ended up with a quiet 19 points on Friday, also cleaning the glass with seven rebounds and finding open teammates for six assists. Smith's 19 points helped her crack the top 10 all-time scoring list at UNC.
- Northern Colorado held Denver to two made field goals in the fourth quarter and 36.9 percent shooting in the game.
What's Ahead?
UNC embarks on a three-game road trip traveling starting by staying in state to play Colorado State next Tuesday night. The Bears and Rams tip-off at 7 pm.
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
DEN
NC
FG%
.369
.443
3FG%
.333
.300
FT%
.846
.500
RB
32
50
TO
10
12
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/PG
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