GREELEY, Colo. – Despite a game-high 21 points from Samford's
Andrea Cournoyer, the Northern Colorado women's basketball team rallied from a 12-9 first quarter deficit to claim a 64-49 victory over the Bulldogs (1-5) on Friday, Nov. 26 at the Bank of Colorado Arena. Led by Hannah Simental's 20 points, the Bears (2-3) placed three players in double figures.
Shauntai Battle chipped in 14 points for Samford.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Northern Colorado 64 | Samford 49
Venue | Time: Bank of Colorado Arena | Greeley, Colo. | 3 p.m.
Series: 1
st meeting | Northern Colorado 1-0
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Samford jumped out to an early 8-3 lead at Northern Colorado with 4:43 to play in the first quarter on Friday at the Bank of Colorado Arena. Andrea Cournoyer had four of the Bulldogs eight.
- Sabine Lipe and Kurstyn Harden fueled a 6-4 run for UNC over the final few minutes of the first quarter, as Samford led 12-9 at the break.
- The Bears kept the pressure on the second quarter, opening the period on a 7-2 run to take their first lead of the game, 16-14, at the 6:40 mark.
- Samford and Northern Colorado continued to trade baskets over the next 2:11 with the Bears maintaining a 22-18 lead at the 4:53 media timeout.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers from Shauntai Battle carried the Bulldogs into the locker room down three, 27-24, at halftime.
- As Samford struggled to find an offensive rhythm to start the third, Northern Colorado built a nine-point advantage, 33-24, with 7:37 to go in the period.
- After a pair of free throws from Battle got the Bulldogs on the board in the third, UNC used an 11-3 spurt to build a 15-point lead, 44-29, with 3:15 to play in the third. Hannah Simental had eight of the 11 for the Bears.
- Samford got back-to-back layups from Cournoyer, including a traditional 3-point play, at the end of the period, as the Bulldogs trailed 47-34 heading into the fourth.
- Cournoyer's 3-pointer with 9:45 to play in the fourth cut the margin to 10, as Samford trailed 47-37.
- UNC came right back with a quick four points from Alexis Chapman to extend the lead back to 14, 51-37, with 8:37 remaining.
- After back-to-back layups by Kiersten Nelson and Natalie Armstrong got it back to 10 for the Bulldogs, UNC head coach Kirstin Mattio called timeout to slow the surge with 7:10 left in the game.
- Simental canned a 3-pointer and a layup off a turnover, as the Bears led 56-41 with 5:11 to go.
- Battle's 3-pointer with 3:00 to go cut the Samford deficit to 12, 60-48.
- UNC closed the contest outscoring Samford 4-1 for the 64-49 victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Northern Colorado shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the floor in the game while holding Samford to 40.4 percent (19-of-47). The Bulldogs were just 5-of-17 from 3-point range while the Bears connected on 9-of-28 from beyond the arc.
- UNC forced 23 Samford turnovers leading to 17 points.
- The Bears outscored the Bulldogs 26-8 off the bench while Samford held a 26-24 edge in the paint.
- Cournoyer finished with 21 points, two shy of 1,000 for her career. The junior from Merryville, La., also grabbed three rebounds and had two assists.
- Battle had 14 points while Natalie Armstrong finished with four points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- Harden (12) and Micayla Isenbart (11) joined Simental in double figure scoring for the Bears.
- Four Bears finished with at least three assists in the win.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Samford and Northern Colorado were meeting for the first time in women's basketball on Friday at the Bank of Colorado Arena.
UP NEXT:
- The Bulldogs conclude their four-game road swing back in Alabama on Wednesday, Dec. 1, as Samford travels to Troy University (3-3). Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Trojans Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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