OGDEN, Utah (December 31, 2016) – Weber State used a strong three-point performance to earn a New Year’s Day win over the Montana Lady Griz.
The Wildcats made ten three-point shots, compared to Montana’s one, and earned a decisive 74-58 home win over the Lady Griz, to start league play 1-1. The Wildcats outscored Montana, 39-26, in the second and third quarters, earning a decisive advantage in the game.
Montana struggled offensively, shooting just 32.8 percent (21-of-64) in the game. The Lady Griz were a combined 1-of-10 from three-point range in the game, and made just 9-of-31 shots in the middle two quarters of the game.
Weber State guard Kailie Quinn led the Wildcats with 19 points, as she made 7-of-12 shots, including four three-point shots. Deeshyra Thomas and Yarden Danan scored 12 points apiece, for Weber.
The Lady Griz were led by Taylor Goligowski, who finished with 15 points.
Northern Arizona 77, Southern Utah 68 OT – Northern Arizona overcame a strong Southern Utah start, chipping away before dominating the overtime period.
Southern Utah held a 63-60 lead with just seconds left, before NAU’s Olivia Lucero hit a three-point shot to tie the game, and send it to overtime. The Lumberjacks outscored Southern Utah, 14-5, in the overtime period.
The Thunderbirds held a 21-11 lead after the first quarter, but struggled all game from distance, hitting just 2-of-14 shots from distance. The Lumberjacks also scored 21 points off Southern Utah’s turnovers.
Raina Perez led the Lumberjacks with 18 points, while Lucero finished with 16 points. Jessica Richardson scored 23 points for Southern Utah.
Idaho State 67, Montana State 59 – The Bengals powered to a 2-0 start in league play, beating Montana State for the second consecutive time.
After upsetting the top-seeded Bobcats in the 2016 conference tourney, Idaho State outscored the Bobcats, 19-9, in the final period, coming back from a 50-48 third-quarter deficit. The Bobcats shot 21.1 percent (4-of-19) in the final period, and missed their only free throw. The Bengals, in contrast, made 8-of-11 free throws in the final period.
Idaho State’s Saylair Gordon scored a career-high 21 points, while Grace Kenyon scored 19 points. Peyton Ferris scored 16 points, and Riley Nordgaard and Madeline Smith scored ten points, apiece.
Neither team had stellar offensive performances, as the Bengals shot just 36.9 percent (24-of-65) in the game. The Bengals led 33-32 at halftime.
Northern Colorado 91, Portland State 62 – Strong second-and-third quarters propelled Northern Colorado to a 2-0 start to conference play.
After the Bears held a narrow 16-14 lead after the first quarter, Northern Colorado outscored the Vikings 26-18 in the second quarter, and 32-16 in the third quarter, on the way to a dominating win. The Bears limited Portland State to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half, including an 0-of-9 performance from three.
Northern Colorado had a strong offensive performance throughout the game, finishing with a shooting percentage of 48 percent (34-of-70). The Bears made an impressive showing in the first half from distance, making 6-of-13 (46.2 percent).
Savannah Scott finished with 20 points with the Bears, on a 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from distance. Scott also finished with 11 assists, and 5 rebounds. Savannah Smith also scored 13 points with Northern Colorado.
North Dakota 94, Sacramento State 71 – The Fighting Hawks had their highest scoring performance of the season, utilizing a dominant first-quarter to propel to a 2-0 start to league play.
North Dakota took an early 26-12 lead, after the first quarter, as the Fighting Hawks limited Sacramento State to 21.4 percent shooting in the opening period (3-of-14). The Hornets shot just 29.7 percent for the game, while making just 8-of-30 three-point shots.
The Fighting Hawks outscored the Hornets in the paint, 32-10, as Makailah Dyer scored 21 points with six rebounds. Dyer also made 10-of-13 free throws. There were five double-digit scorers for UND, with Samantha Roscoe finishing with 18 points.
Emily Easom led the Hornets with 19 points, with Maranne Johnson scoring 18 points. This was the lowest scoring output of the season, for Sacramento State.
Eastern Washington 67, Idaho 57 – Ashli Payne dominated in Eastern Washington’s conference opener, picking up a home win to open conference play.
Payne scored 21 points to lead all scorers, making 7-of-10 shots, including 4-of-6 three-point shots. The Eagles dominated offensively in the first half, holding a 30-16 halftime lead. Eastern Washington outscored Idaho 21-6 in the second quarter, holding the Vandals to just 18-of-57 from the floor throughout the game. Idaho led 10-9 after the first quarter.
Geri McCorkell had just 12 points for Idaho, who had only two double-digit scorers. Eastern Washington had three double-digit scorers.
EWU’s Payne finished the day with a double-double, finishing with 14 rebounds along with the points.