The University of Northern Colorado women’s basketball team shot 73.6 percent after the half to earn a 64-58 victory over league-leader Montana on Thursday night at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
After the matchup, both Northern Colorado (15-6, 7-3) and Montana (11-10, 7-3) move to second in conference in a four-way tie along with Montana State and Idaho. Meanwhile, Weber State (15-5, 7-2) continues to lead the Big Sky. With a lot of conference left, twelve teams continue to battle it out looking to punch a ticket to Reno.
Montana jumped out on Northern Colorado early in the first half, going on an 11 to nothing run to secure a 13-4 lead. Looking to turn things around for the Bears, senior Kianna Williams hit a quick jumper followed by a 3-pointer to help narrow the gap to 15-11 at the end of the first.
Although it appeared Montana’s fate was sealed in the fourth quarter, a second period drought may have been even deadlier than Northern Colorado’s unstoppable offense. It wasn’t until the 4:38 mark that Northern Colorado gained momentum from two unusual suspects.
Sophomore Abby Kain broke the lid with a jumper and junior Kirsten Kramer, who made her first appearance of the season, knocked down a pair of threes. The two combined for eight of the team’s 10 points in the second, sending Northern Colorado to the locker room trailing Montana 27-23 at halftime.
Northern Colorado shot just 34.5 percent at the end of the first and the Savannahs—Smith and Scott, the Bears’ leading scorers—combined for a total of just two points in the first half.
Unfortunately for Montana, the second half would be a different story for the Bears. The team improved their shooting percentage by nearly 40 percent and Smith caught fire, scoring 18 of her 20 points in the second half, including back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third that gave the Bears the first lead of the game since its early minutes, 44-43. Northern Colorado dominated the final 20 minutes.
With Northern Colorado scoring at will and Montana missing crucial shots at the line, the Bears ran away with the lead. Even though nobody else reached double-digit scoring for the Bears, Smith’s 20 points would be enough to help secure the win.
The duo of Sophia Stiles and Madi Schoening recorded double-digit figures for the Grizzlies with 16 and 12, respectively. Redshirt-sophomore Taylor Goligoski added eight of her own.
Next up for Northern Colorado, the Bears head to Bozeman to take on Montana State (13-8, 7-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday. At the same time, Montana hosts North Dakota (10-11, 3-7).
