Davis and Gayles tag-team to put Vikings away

Thursday, February 25

Portland, OR

8 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

10-11,9-7Big Sky

Portland State University

9-10,6-9Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Portland St.

Photo by: Scott Larson

2/25/2021 10:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – Northern Colorado Women's basketball left no doubt. Grabbing the lead early, the Bears never looked back, cruising past Portland State, 73-51.

Coming off a week of rest, head coach Jenny Huth got the energetic start she hoped for. UNC ran out to a 10-0 run to open the contest, setting the tone early in Viking Pavilion.

1Q | @hjsimental makes it an 8-0 run to start the game!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/OZGA0IcffK
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 26, 2021

The Bears shot 46 percent from the floor in the first quarter, with Alisha Davis leading the way with nine points in 10 minutes.

Both schools could hardly buy a bucket midway through the second quarter. It was the UNC's do-it-all guard Jasmine Gayles who came up with some timely basketballs. Gayles had eight of her 18 points in the quarter.

The sophomore would not miss. Literally.

Gayles' 18 points came on 7-7 shooting, 4-4 from deep while adding seven rebounds and three assists.

4Q | @jazgayles is perfect! We mean literally perfect! She's 7-7!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/zjRslllftW
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 26, 2021

Though Northern Colorado led by just 10 at the break, they had held Portland State to 27 percent shooting, just 1-10 from three-point land and outrebounded the Vikings 24-14.

Speaking of rebounds, Alisha Davis collected nine board in the opening 20 minutes, ensuring her path to her 11^th double-double of the season.

Davis dialed up a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds.

3Q | No words @alishaaa_5 . No words#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/3LQUEAH2f5
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 26, 2021

Patient, methodical offense was the name of the game for the Bears in the second half. After shooting north of 50 percent in the first half, UNC shot 62.5 in the second.

Off the bench, Alexis Chapman perfectly orchestrated the offense to close out the game. Chapman dished out three assists to go along with her seven points and six rebounds.

3Q | @20_chapman out here throwing dimes!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/3pgV1BzKWe
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 26, 2021

What They Said
Head Coach, Jenny Huth
"We came off the bye week focused. Jasmine was awesome today on the stat line and for the mentality of our team. Tonight, our team was committed to all the right things. We need to clean up a few things like turnovers and some defensive mistakes. Overall, we played solid and I'm proud of our team!

On Alisha Davis' season-high
"Alisha was a beast for us and showed who she can be. I'm proud of her perseverance tonight!"

Stat of the Game
You can not be more perfect than Jasmine Gayles. Gayles' perfect 7-7 effort, including 4-4 from three-point land is her best effort since going 5-5 last year against Sacramento State.

Game Notes

Northern Colorado's bench continues to be a bright spot for head coach Jenny Huth, scoring in double figures for the fifth straight game.
Alisha Davis notched her 11^th double-double of the season and 18^th of her career.
Davis reached a season-high 28 points.
Jasmine Gayles was perfect in every way, shooting 7-7 from the field, including 4-4 from beyond the arc.
The Bears have now beaten opponents by 20-plus points in back-to-back games.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado and Portland State will turn around and play one more game on Saturday. The tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. MT.

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.