Box Score Greeley, Colorado - The Thunderbird women's basketball team ventured back out into Big Sky territory on Thursday night, and fell to the Northern Colorado Bears 64–44.
“We didn't take care of the ball at the level we needed to early in the game,” SUU head coach Chris Boettcher said about his team's performance. “We defended pretty well throughout most of the game, but a lot of our turnovers just led to easy baskets and we were not shooting the best from the field, so once you give them easy baskets from turnovers and they get a lead then you're playing from behind, which for our team on the road has been a challenge all year.”
The Thunderbirds committed 21 turnovers on Thursday night.
The Thunderbirds scored the first basket of the contest, but they would only score two more buckets in the first quarter as the Bears had a 14–6 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
The Thunderbirds were able to pick up their offensive production in the second quarter, including back-to-back three pointers near the end of the second period, and only trailed 29–20 going into the half.
“We took a little bit better care of the ball in that quarter,” Boettcher said about the second period. “We made some adjustments. They were double teaming the post so we spread it out for draw and kick and dribble penetration, so there were a few things we were able to do that helped us in that quarter.”
Near the end of the third quarter the Bears got going, building their lead to as many as 18 and held a 17 point advantage after 30 minutes of basketball.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Bears, as they were able to close out the T-Birds with a 20 point victory.
Dari Frandsen led the scoring effort for the Thunderbirds with nine points. Jamie Smith dropped in eight for SUU and Breanu Reid had seven. Jessica Richardson pulled in double-digit rebounds for the T-Birds
Savannah Smith had a big game for UNC, scoring 20 points and pulling in six rebounds. Rebecca Howell also dropped in 12 for the Bears.
The T-Birds will be back at it on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Grand Forks to take on the University of North Dakota, which Boettcher said will be a good test for his team.
“I expect a physical game and I hope that we play well enough to keep it a close game,” he said. “All season we've battled teams really close, and their size is going to be a challenge for us and hopefully our quickness can be a challenge for them.”
