Recap: @UNCBearsWBB Defend, Defeat ISU to Advance to Big Sky Championship

Friday, March 9

Reno, Nev.

1:05 pm

University of Northern Colorado

25-6

Idaho State

21-11

Idaho State

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Big Sky Conference

3/9/2018 4:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Northern Colorado women's basketball used a complete game to move onto the Big Sky Championship Game tomorrow

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

RENO, Nev. – Northern Colorado women's basketball advanced to the Big Sky Tournament finals with a strong start and withstanding a late Idaho State run in a 73-66 victory. The Bears forced 16 turnovers and shot 46.6 percent in the win.

(3/9/2018) WBB vs ISU Big Sky Tournament

Offense led to defense in the first half for Northern Colorado as they scored 20 points off 10 ISU turnovers. Those turnovers also led to scoring droughts for the Bengals leading to runs of 9-0, 8-0, 7-0 and 5-0 for the Bears.

The game started with a quick 8-0 start as ISU turned it over three times to force a timeout. After a quick 5-0 ISU run Northern Colorado responded with a 9-0 run to lead 19-7 after the first 10 minutes of play. The Big Sky Conference's Defensive Player of the Year Kianna Williams had four steals in the first quarter as she wreaked havoc on the ISU offense.

It was the same story in the second quarter with UNC continuing to stifle the ISU offense and taking advantage of the Bengals continued struggles. The Bears extended the lead to 15 by the half at 36-21 as they outshot Idaho State 53.3 percent to 25.9.

ISU worked to make it a ball game in the third quarter, cutting the UNC lead to 10, but never any closer than that. Williams showed off her offensive skill set draining a pair of key 3s to put the team back up by 14. Behind those key Williams' 3-pointers, UNC went into the fourth up 52-40.

The Bengals did not go easy though after Northern Colorado extended the lead to 16 following a Bridget Hintz and one, the team went on a two and a half minute drought. In that time, Idaho State cut the lead to eight. Krystal Leger-Walker hit a big three to end the drought and put the team back up double figures with a little over five minutes left.

Idaho State continued its run at the Bears, cutting it to a five-point ball game with two minutes left. UNC's defense and free throw shooting carried them the rest of the way to move onto the championship game. Williams made the big play down the stretch, with a trap and steal in the corner with 38 seconds left following an ISU offensive rebound.

In Their Words
Head coach Kamie Ethridge

Overall Thoughts on the game
"It was a typical Idaho State game and they play to just a high level in this tournament and I told Seaton that. We got out to a great first half and withstood their push. I think I hurt our team a little bit in the way I tried to take the air out of the ball in the fourth quarter and we made some bad plays. I love the makeup of our team to make up for mistakes and find a way to win at the end."

About Kianna William's play
"I'm not going to be able to replace her and we are going to miss her so much after this year. Just on defense, she has grown from her freshman year to even two years ago to now. She is a great defender and competitor. She plays with a mean streak just like the great ones do. She takes pride in guarding the other team's best player, but also is great on the help side."

Redshirt junior guard Savannah Smith

About holding off Idaho State's late run
"We knew they were going to make a run at some point. They are a good team and that's what they do. We just prepared ourselves for that and did a good job of managing it."

On beating Idaho State after knocking the team out the past two years
"It's awesome to get this win after the past two years. Kianna, Savannah Scott and I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and are really happy to be in this moment."

Senior guard Kianna Williams

About the key late steal to end the game
"I was honestly made we gave up the offensive rebound and wasn't going to let it play to chance and wanted to make a play for our team."

Game Changer
Kianna Williams showed exactly why she was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year on Friday afternoon with a big game against the Bengals. Williams played all 40 minutes recording seven steals, seven rebounds and three blocks while scoring 13 points and four assists. She helped the team get out to the quick start with four steals in the first quarter and then hit key jumpers late and recorded the game-sealing steal inside the final minute.

Stat to Know
Northern Colorado forced ISU into 16 turnovers Friday afternoon and took advantage of them in a big way. The Bears scored 26 points off of those 16 Bengals miscues.

Game Notes
- Savannah Smith led UNC in scoring with 23 points in 37 minutes. She also had three assists, three rebounds and a steal.
- Krystal Leger-Walker had another strong game for UNC scoring 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting with four rebounds, two steals, a block and steal.
- The duo of Bridget Hintz and Abby Kain combined for 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the game. Hintz grabbed four offensive rebounds for the team.

What's Ahead?
UNC is now off to the Big Sky Championship game. The Bears will face the winner of the Idaho/Portland State semifinal at 1:05 pm MT. Northern Colorado is seeking its first NCAA tournament appearance in the program's DI history.