University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, February 1
Missoula, Mont.
7:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
15-6, 7-3BSC
64
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58
Montana
11-10, 7-3BSC
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Northern Colorado
11
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Montana
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Recap: Strong Second Half Offense Leads @UNCBearsWBB Over Montana
2/1/2018 10:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado shot 73.6 percent in the second half to defeat Montana 64-58
MISSOULA, Mont. – Northern Colorado (15-6, 7-3 BSC) overcame offensive struggles in the first half, to come back and defeat league-leader Montana (11-10, 7-3) in Missoula 64-58 Thursday night. The Lady Griz led by as much as nine in the first quarter, but the Bears didn't crack under the pressure and worked their way back.
Northern Colorado went from shooting 34.5 percent in the first half, to 73.6 percent in the second to earn the comeback win.
Montana used an early 11-0 run to build its early lead at 13-4 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Bears closed the first strong, with a 7-2 run closing the gap to 15-11. Kianna Williams led the run with a jumper and 3-pointer.
At the break, a lid was put on both teams' baskets, as they combined to miss the first 13 shots of the quarter. Abby Kain broke the ice for the teams with a jumper in the paint at the 4:38 mark. UNC earned a spark from Kain and Kirsten Kramer as they combined for eight of the team's 10 points in the second, with Kramer knocking down a pair of 3s. Montana still led at the break 27-23.
The Bears hit their first six shots of the second half, but Montana shot just as well as the Lady Griz held its four-point lead midway through the quarter. Northern Colorado proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to end the third. Savannah Smith led the charge for UNC hitting a pair of 3s to give the team a 44-43 lead heading into the fourth.
Smith connected on her third trey of the game a couple minutes into the quarter to cap off a 7-0 run and put the Bears up by its largest margin of the night at six. Montana worked its way back to within one with 3:41 left, but UNC's defense came up big holding UM scoreless until 27 seconds remained to earn the win.
What They Said
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall thoughts on the game
"It feels great to get this win at Montana. This is one of the best home court environments in our league and they do not lose very much on this court. We started out the game really struggling to find shots and good looks in the first half. We just stuck with it, and it was a great team win. Every one of our players played including Kirsten Kramer who came off the bench and made two 3s in the first half. It was great to see everyone contribute and pull out the win."
On the strong second half
"We played one of our better second half of the season. It was really a tale of two halves on offense. It started with Savannah Smith who was in foul trouble in the first half and made some big baskets for us in the second. She did a good job of driving to the basket and then using her outside game to hit some threes."
About improvements and what's ahead?
"One area that hurt us was that was rebounding. They killed us on the offensive boards and that kept Montana in the game. It was great to see the team battle back and earn the win, but we have to keep our mindset that this is just the first half and we have to come back out on Saturday and compete against a tough Montana State team."
Game Changer
Savannah Smith put the team on her back during the third quarter after struggling in the first half. She scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter, including a pair of step back 3s to put the team in the lead. She ended up shooting 54.5 percent in the game and making five of her six free throw attempts, adding on two assists and two rebounds.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado only missed five shots in the second half, leading to a 73.6 shooting percentage. That was markedly better than the first half when they shot 34.5 percent.
Game Notes
- This is only the second time UNC has swept the season series with Montana. The other came in the 2011-12 season.
- All nine of Northern Colorado's active players saw action in Thursday's game and scored at least two points.
- Kirsten Kramer played her first minutes of the 2017-18 season and showed no rust, nailing a pair of 3s before the end of the first half to give UNC a spark.
- Abby Kain also had a strong night off the bench for UNC scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds.
- The Bears outshot Montana, 50.0 percent to 40.7.
- Rebounding was key for the Lady Griz to keep it close against Northern Colorado with a 39-27 advantage. UM grabbed 19 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second-chance points.
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado looks for its first-ever season sweep of the Montana schools when they take on Montana State Saturday at 2 pm. The Bobcats are in a four-way tie with UNC, UM and Idaho for second place in the conference after defeating North Dakota Thursday 72-56.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
Northern Colorado went from shooting 34.5 percent in the first half, to 73.6 percent in the second to earn the comeback win.
Montana used an early 11-0 run to build its early lead at 13-4 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Bears closed the first strong, with a 7-2 run closing the gap to 15-11. Kianna Williams led the run with a jumper and 3-pointer.
At the break, a lid was put on both teams' baskets, as they combined to miss the first 13 shots of the quarter. Abby Kain broke the ice for the teams with a jumper in the paint at the 4:38 mark. UNC earned a spark from Kain and Kirsten Kramer as they combined for eight of the team's 10 points in the second, with Kramer knocking down a pair of 3s. Montana still led at the break 27-23.
The Bears hit their first six shots of the second half, but Montana shot just as well as the Lady Griz held its four-point lead midway through the quarter. Northern Colorado proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to end the third. Savannah Smith led the charge for UNC hitting a pair of 3s to give the team a 44-43 lead heading into the fourth.
Smith connected on her third trey of the game a couple minutes into the quarter to cap off a 7-0 run and put the Bears up by its largest margin of the night at six. Montana worked its way back to within one with 3:41 left, but UNC's defense came up big holding UM scoreless until 27 seconds remained to earn the win.
What They Said
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Overall thoughts on the game
"It feels great to get this win at Montana. This is one of the best home court environments in our league and they do not lose very much on this court. We started out the game really struggling to find shots and good looks in the first half. We just stuck with it, and it was a great team win. Every one of our players played including Kirsten Kramer who came off the bench and made two 3s in the first half. It was great to see everyone contribute and pull out the win."
On the strong second half
"We played one of our better second half of the season. It was really a tale of two halves on offense. It started with Savannah Smith who was in foul trouble in the first half and made some big baskets for us in the second. She did a good job of driving to the basket and then using her outside game to hit some threes."
About improvements and what's ahead?
"One area that hurt us was that was rebounding. They killed us on the offensive boards and that kept Montana in the game. It was great to see the team battle back and earn the win, but we have to keep our mindset that this is just the first half and we have to come back out on Saturday and compete against a tough Montana State team."
Game Changer
Savannah Smith put the team on her back during the third quarter after struggling in the first half. She scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter, including a pair of step back 3s to put the team in the lead. She ended up shooting 54.5 percent in the game and making five of her six free throw attempts, adding on two assists and two rebounds.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado only missed five shots in the second half, leading to a 73.6 shooting percentage. That was markedly better than the first half when they shot 34.5 percent.
Game Notes
- This is only the second time UNC has swept the season series with Montana. The other came in the 2011-12 season.
- All nine of Northern Colorado's active players saw action in Thursday's game and scored at least two points.
- Kirsten Kramer played her first minutes of the 2017-18 season and showed no rust, nailing a pair of 3s before the end of the first half to give UNC a spark.
- Abby Kain also had a strong night off the bench for UNC scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds.
- The Bears outshot Montana, 50.0 percent to 40.7.
- Rebounding was key for the Lady Griz to keep it close against Northern Colorado with a 39-27 advantage. UM grabbed 19 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second-chance points.
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado looks for its first-ever season sweep of the Montana schools when they take on Montana State Saturday at 2 pm. The Bobcats are in a four-way tie with UNC, UM and Idaho for second place in the conference after defeating North Dakota Thursday 72-56.
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
UM
FG%
.500
.407
3FG%
.364
.200
FT%
.727
.571
RB
27
39
TO
14
14
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/PG
/ Women's BasketballG
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