Davis' defense leads UNC to Big Sky semifinals

Tuesday, March 9

Boise, ID

2 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

14-11,12-7Big Sky

Southern Utah University

11-9,6-5Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Southern Utah	13	9	21	16	59
Northern Colo.	11	16	15	21	63

3/9/2021 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

BOISE, Idaho – March signals win or go home time for everyone in college basketball. Northern Colorado Women's Basketball made it clear it had no intention of returning to Greeley any time soon with a 63-59 victory over Southern Utah.

The Bears' seventh straight win locked in a date with the Bengals of Idaho State in Wednesday's Big Sky semifinals.

Both teams had difficulty finding the bottom of the basket in the opening quarter, shooting below 40 percent from the floor.

Big Sky MVP Alisha Davis, however, was the lone player to find some success early at Idaho Central Arena. With eight first-quarter points, Davis kept the Bears within arm's reach, 13-11, after the first ten minutes.

Q1 | @alishaaa_5 says no! 🚫🚫🚫#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/OXPATlu3dN
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) March 9, 2021

Jasmine Gayles found her stroke in the second quarter. The sophomore from Seattle splashed in three three-pointers to reach double figures in the first half.

Q2 | SPLASH!! That's a three for @jazgayles !!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/NHFLbKDv9h
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) March 9, 2021

Gayles tallied a game-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

Defensively, the Bears clamped down on the Thunderbirds, allowing merely nine points in the second quarter and holding SUU to just 25 percent shooting.

Meanwhile, human highlight-reel Alisha Davis matched her career blocks total by halftime with six.

Davis nearly collected a triple-double, ending the game with 15 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks.

Q3 | @micaylann from @alishaaa_5 !!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/Au5sPckYUD
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) March 9, 2021

A 10-0 run from Southern Utah in the third quarter swung the momentum back in the Thunderbird's favor.

Toughness was the name of the game for the Bears in the final 10 minutes. With the game in the balance, head coach Jenny Huth's team buckled down to make key clutch plays on both ends of the floor.

Buckets from Jaiden Galloway and Alisha Davis stretched the UNC lead to 55-50 with under two minutes to play. From there, the game would come down to the Bears' ability to hits shots at the line.

Q4 | What a time for your first basket for Galloway!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyWBB pic.twitter.com/RDPyYcteXZ
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) March 9, 2021

Galloway, Hannah Simental and Jasmine Gayles all had cracks at the charity stripe. Collectively, the trio went 8-of-9 solidifying UNC victory and ensuring another matchup with Idaho State on Wednesday.

What They Said
Sophomore Guard Jamine Gayles

Stat of the Game
Free throws – The Bears attacked the basket all night long, leading to an 18-of-25 performance from the free-throw line. In the game's final minutes, UNC was 8-of-9.

Game Notes

Alisha Davis almost had her first career triple-double, grabbing 15 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Ten blocks are a season-high for Northern Colorado.
Jasmine Gayles finished one point shy of matching her career-high of 22 points.
Mele Finau, Alexis Chapman, Gayles, Micayla Isenbart and Davis all finished with at least four rebounds in the game.
Freshman Hannah Simental had ice in her veins down the stretch, going 4-4 from the free-throw line to seal the win.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado advances to the semifinals where they'll matchup against the No. 1 overall seed Idaho State. The game is set for Wednesday, March 10, at 6 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.