Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
'Cats fall short to Bears in Big Sky play
1/23/2011 1:58:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Weber State falls short to Northern Colorado, 68-56
Jan. 22, 2011
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OGDEN, Utah – A frigid shooting first half dug the Wildcats a hole they could never really recover from. Facing Big Sky Conference rival Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at the Dee Events Center, the Weber State University women's basketball team shot just 3-of-27 (11.1 percent) from the field in the first half, scoring just 15 points in the opening 20 minutes. Weber State rallied to take a 36-33 lead in the second half, but a strong finish by Northern Colorado carried the Bears to the 68-56 victory over the Wildcats. Sophomore forward Amanda Hughes finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Weber State |
before fouling out with 2:55 remaining. Hughes was one of four Wildcats saddled with early foul trouble, and one of two – senior forward Caitlin Anderson being the other – that fouled out.
Junior center Mikell Woodfield finished with 12 points and eight assists, finishing the game despite picking up her fourth personal with more than 11 minutes remaining.
Sophomore guard Megan Patterson finished with 10 points, hitting three second-half 3-point field goals during Weber State's rally.
Anderson finished with eight points and six rebounds before fouling out with 8:22 remaining, and freshman point guard Justine Johnson added eight points, four assists and four rebounds – also playing the final 3:09 with four fouls.
Weber State scored the first two points of the game on a pair of free throws by Anderson, but didn't get its first field goal until more than 11 minutes, 30 seconds into the game when Anderson made a driving layup to cut Northern Colorado's lead to 14-9.
The Wildcats continued to struggle against the Bears high-pressure post defense throughout the first half, and trailed 24-15 at the break.
Weber State ignited early in the second half, riding a 13-2 scoring surge to a 36-33 lead with 12:06 left, but Northern Colorado changed things up with a physical, full-court pressure defense that forced nine turnovers in the closing minutes.
The Wildcats shot 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the field in the second half, but sent the Bears to the line 25 times in the final 20 minutes where Northern Colorado converted 21 of those attempts to push the lead into double figures.
Weber State finished with a 39-33 rebounding advantage, winning the battle of the boards for the second straight game, led by Hughes and Woodfield with eight each.
The Bears outscored the Wildcats 34-24 in the paint, and scored 23 points off 22 Weber State turnovers.
Saturday's game wrapped up a five-game home stand for the Wildcats, who will face a rematch with the Bears next Saturday in Greeley, Colo. It will be Weber State's first road conference game of the 2010-11 season and just the second overall road game since Dec. 21.
