Bears split with Idaho after Saturday second half surge

Saturday, January 16

Greeley, Colo.

Noon MT

University of Northern Colorado

4-9,3-5Big Sky

University of Idaho

7-5,6-2Big Sky

Idaho

Northern Colo.

Photo by: Ragen Wareham

1/16/2021 3:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – For the second time in three days, Northern Colorado Women's Basketball went toe-to-toe with Idaho in the Bank of Colorado Arena. Saturday, it was a Vandal second-half surge that gave them the victory, 74-57.

Riding the momentum from Thursday night's win, the Bears came out hot shooting, especially from deep. By the end of the first half, UNC was 5-7 from downtown and would finish the contest an outstanding 10-15.

1Q | Galloway kicks things off with a 3⃣‼️#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/R3lIEUPQap
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) January 16, 2021

Among those with a hot-hand early was freshman guard Hannah Simental. After pouring in 19 points against Idaho on Thursday, including 4-4 from three-point range, Simental stayed perfect from the great beyond with another three Saturday. The Pueblo native would finish with nine points and two assists.

1Q | Simental with a 3⃣💪#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/BGvspF117E
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) January 16, 2021

Late in the first half, head coach Jenny Huth gave the rock to junior Brooklyn Evans. Evans' high-arcing jumper help tie the game at 29 at the halfway mark.

2Q | @BrooklynJenelle AGAIN💪#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/VJh5ZzHCBy
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) January 16, 2021

Evans finished with a career-high 10 points.

Where the Bears were prolific offensively in the first half, Idaho was equally as stellar in the second.

The Vandals shot north of 55 percent from the floor in both the third and fourth quarters, while UNC's offense struggled to keep up.

Northern Colorado wouldn't go down without a fight, however, as the Bears clawed their way back within nine before Idaho produced a slew of timely buckets to seal the win.

Postgame Thoughts

Game Notes

Hannah Simental has not missed a three-pointer since January 7, against Montana State.
Brooklyn Evans dialed up a career-high 10 points.
Jaiden Galloway dished out a career-high four assists.
Three Bears were perfect from beyond the arc Saturday afternoon (Hannah Simental 1-1, Alexis Chapman 2-2, Olivia Wikstrom 2-2)
Freshman walk-on Haley Masaki played in her second game in the Blue and Gold.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado will head to the Northwest to face Eastern Washington. Thursday's and Saturday's games are scheduled for 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. MT, respectively.

To stay up to date on all things UNC Women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the new UNC Athletics app by clicking here.