Bears soar past Vikings for dominating victory

Monday, February 7

Greeley, Colo.

5:30 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

9-11,5-7Big Sky

Portland State

5-15,0-12Big Sky

Portland St.

Northern Colo.

Photo by: Jam David

2/7/2022 8:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Dominant doesn't quite cut it, describing Northern Colorado's 93-45 win over Portland State on Monday evening.

A season-high field goal percentage, 38 points in the paint and an equally impressive effort on the defensive end of the floor gave the home fans at Bank of Colorado Arena their most thrilling win of the season thus far.

It didn't take long for the Bears to hit the ground running.

Much like Saturday afternoon's start, a 13-0 run that saw buckets from Allie Downing, Micayla Isenbart and back-to-back triples from Sabine Lipe had everyone on their feet.

Lipe and Isenbart owned the hot hands of the first half. Lipe when 2-2 from beyond the arc while Isenbart was an equally as perfect 3-3.

By end of the first 20 minutes, the Bears were shooting 67 percent from deep and Isenbart had collected a season-high 15 points.

Northern Colorado wasn't just dominant from the perimeter, however. Kurstyn Harden and company made certain UNC established dominance in the paint as well.

Harden, Callie Boyles and Jayce Gorzeman all attacked the bucket, earning 22 points in the paint compared to Portland State's eight in the opening 20 minutes.

UNC's defense didn't let up in the third quarter either. After holding the Vikings to 11 and eight points in the first and second periods, respectively, the Bears only allowed 10 in the third.

Gritty efforts from Gorzeman, Sydney Stensgard and Jaiden Galloway kept PSU from gaining any sort of momentum.

In fact, Gorzeman turned in arguably her best performance in the Blue and Gold. The New Mexico native tallied a season-high 12 points and finished one rebound (9) shy of a double-double. And Stensgard reached double-figures for the first time in a Bears uniform.

Harden did manage to secure her seventh double-double of the season (10 pointts, 10 rebounds).

Head coach Kristen Mattio conjured season bests up and down the stat sheet. When the dust finally settled, Northern Colorado had shot a season-high field-goal percentage (58.9), season-high three-point percentage (64.7) and scored the most points beating No. 25 DePaul in 2017.

Not to mention defensively, the Bears held its opponent under 50 points for the fourth time this season.

All totaled, the dominant performance added up to a 93-45 victory.

Stat of the Game
Not only did Northern Colorado rain down threes all evening, shooting 64.7 percent (11-17), the Bears also dominated the paint, outscoring the Vikings 38-26.

What They Said
Kurstyn Harden, Jayce Gorzeman and head coach Kristen Mattio

Game Notes

Northern Colorado's 49 first-half points were the most this season.
UNC held Portland State to 19 first-half points, the second-lowest total this season. They had previously held Omaha to 17.
Micayla Isenbart (15 points), Jayce Gorzeman (12 points), Kurstyn Harden (10 points) and Sydney Stensgard (10 points) all finished in double figures.
Harden recorded her seventh double-double of the season.
UNC's 19 assists were the most in a Big Sky this season.
Northern Colorado's 93 points were the most scored since defeating DePaul, 94-88, in 2017.
UNC's set season-highs in points (93), field goal percentage (.589) and three-point percentage (.647)

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado remains at home for a matchup with a red-hot Sacramento State team on Thursday, February 10. 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.