Women's Basketball's epic 4th-quarter comeback topples Bengals

Thursday, February 17

Greeley, Colo.

Noon MT

University of Northern Colorado

10-13,6-9Big Sky

Idaho State

16-9,12-4Big Sky

Idaho St.

Northern Colo.

2/17/2022 3:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Comeback complete!

Trailing by 12 in the third quarter, the Bears rattled off a 17-4 run to topple the No. 1 team in the Big Sky conference, 53-52.

Northern Colorado roared out of the gates. A 9-0 run with hits from Jayce Gorzeman, Hannah Simental and Micayla Isenbart had the Bank of Colorado rocking with most of District Six in the building.

Q1 | @jgorzeman14 again!! The Bears start the game on a 9-0 run!!#GetUpGreeley 🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/csHw3T08x9
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 17, 2022

Anchored by the hot start, the Bears kept the pressure on both offensively and defensively.

UNC held the Bengals to just 3-11 from the floor in the opening 10 minutes and 0-3 from beyond the arc, giving the home side a 19-8 advantage.

Despite the Northern Colorado offense going quiet for the early parts of the second quarter, coach Mattio's defense never wavered. Idaho State hit only 1-6 from downtown and still couldn't reach the 40 percent mark from the floor with the likes of Jaiden Galloway, Callie Boyles and the rest of the Bear defense applying the pressure.

Idaho State made its run in the third quarter. Shooting 10-12 from the floor and capitalizing on six UNC turnovers, the Bengals vaulted into the lead with 10 minutes to go.

ISU led by as many as 12 points in the second half before Mattio's Bears mounted one last charge.

That last charge, though, will go down as one of the best of the season in the Big Sky Conference.

Inch by Inch, the Bears clawed their way back toward the lead. Led by sophomore Sydney Stensgard, UNC produced stop after stop and dropped in some clutch buckets. It was Stensgard herself who hit the game-tying three to send the home fans into a frenzy.

Q1 | @jgorzeman14 again!! The Bears start the game on a 9-0 run!!#GetUpGreeley 🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/csHw3T08x9
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 17, 2022

Defensively, Idaho State would not find a way past Northern Colorado. Shooting 1-12 in the final 10 minutes, the Bears made sure they were the only ones finding the bottom of the net.

With a minute to play, extra effort from Alexis Chapman ensured a second-chance opportunity, one that Allie Downing wouldn't waste. Inarguably her biggest two points of the game, Downing's jumper final gave the Bears the lead back for the final time.

One point lead 👀@allie_downing17 | #GetUpGreeley🐻🏀 pic.twitter.com/Q8kvkfx5JE
— UNC Bears WBB (@UNC_BearsWBB) February 17, 2022

With a Blue and Gold wall beneath the basket for Mattio, Northern Colorado closed out the final moments, toppling the No.1 team in the Big Sky 53-52.

Stat of the Game
Across the final 10:31, Northern Colorado outscored the Bengals 17-4 and held Idaho State to just 1-12 shooting to ensure the comeback victory.

What They Said
Hannah Simental, Sydney Stensgard and head coach Kristen Mattio

Game Notes

Hannah Simental finished with a game-high 16 points and has now scored in double figures in 17 games this season.
Simental was also a perfect 2-2 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. She is now 35-38 this season in the fourth quarter and overtime.
For the second straight game, Sydney Stensgard finished with seven points. However, all seven came in the fourth quarter.
UNC outrebounded the Bengals 37-27. It was the 17^th time the Bears have outrebounded their opponent.
The Bears have now held their opponent below 60 points in 12 games this season and are 10-2 when doing so.
Northern Colorado's win is the first time the Bears have grabbed a victory when trailing after the third quarter.

What's Ahead
UNC stays home, hosting Weber State on Saturday, February 19 at 2 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.