Bears led by pair of Texans in win over Abilene Christian

Sunday, December 19

Abilene, TX

Noon MT

University of Northern Colorado

3-6,0-2Big Sky

Abilene Christian University

7-3,0-0WAC

Northern Colo.

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

12/19/2021 2:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

ABILENE, Texas – Lone Star State natives Kurstyn Harden and Alexis Chapman led the charge against Abilene Christian on Sunday, combining for 34 points to secure the Bears' first road win of the season, 70-58.

Harden dominated the first half of Sunday's contest, matching her career-high with 12 points while pulling down four rebounds.

UNC opened with 18 first-quarter points, the second-most in any game this season. Alexis Chapman and Allie Downing added a pair of triples as the Bears hung tough with the Wildcats.

Defensively, Northern Colorado forced six early turnovers on a team that ranks No. 1 in the WAC in assist to turnover ratio.

Just as ACU found a bit of offensive rhythm toward the end of the half, it was Hannah Simental, making her much-welcomed return, who splashed in her first three of the afternoon to keep the Bears within one at the break.

Northern Colorado's offense wouldn't falter in the second half.

After shooting 50 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the Bears backed up that performance with 46 percent shooting, including four more threes in the second

It was out of the media timeout in the third quarter when UNC really put the pedal to the metal, though.

Chapman knocked down her third three of the game and the Bears were able to find Zoe Campbell twice in the paint as Northern Colorado went on an 8-0 run and never looked back.

Garland, Texas native Alexis Chapman found her stroke that ultimately kept the Wildcats at bay in the second half. Chapman dialed up a season-high 16 points, the most she's stacked up since scoring 15 in February of 2020.

With the help of Harden, Jayce Gorzeman and Simental, UNC was afforded multiple looks at scoring each time they came down the court. The Bears finished with 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points.

The fourth quarter was all Chapman, Harden and the Northern Colorado defense.

On the defensive side, UNC held ACU to just 23 second-half points, stifling a normally sure-fire three-point shooting team.

Meanwhile, Harden led all scorers with six while Chapman's fourth three from beyond the arc gave UNC a 12-point cushion with just over three minutes to play.

From there, all coach Mattio needed was the ice-cold veins of Hannah Simental, who went 6-6 from the charity stripe to secure the victory, 70-58.

Stat of the Game
Northern Colorado left Abilene with its backboards spotless. UNC cleaned the glass for 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points.

What They Said
Head coach, Kristen Mattio
"Today we really showed some maturity and resilience as a team in key moments that allowed us to get this win. Our inside post presence was established early in the game. Kurstyn [Harden] and Zoe [Campbell] did a great job of helping us control the paint both offensively and defensively! Lex was locked in and made some big baskets for us all throughout the game. And we knocked down some big free throws late to put the game away. Collectively, as a team, we had to defend them all over the court and we executed that well. Overall, a great team effort for our team as we head into Christmas break!"

Game Notes

Kurstyn Harden mustered a career-high 18 points on 9-11 shooting.
Alexis Chapman poured in a season-high 16 points, including four triples. It was the most points she's scored since grabbing 15 against NAU in February of 2020.
Chapman is average 11.33 points per game over the last three contests.
Allie Downing reached double figures (10 points) for the third time this season and has hit one three in four straight games.
Hannah Simental has reached double figures in six of the seven games she's played in and hit at least one three in all seven.
Northern Colorado's bench (25 points) outscored its opponent for the fifth time this season. UNC's bench has outscored its opponent in all three of its wins this season.
The Bears won its first road game of 2021-22.
All three of Northern Colorado's wins have come when holding its opponent under 60 points.

What's Ahead
The Bears are back at Bank of Colorado on Tuesday, December 28, for a matchup with Kansas Wesleyan at 6 p.m. MT. Tickets can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets

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.