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Vandals' NCAA Tournament hopes dashed with 91-69 loss

Mikayla Ferenz and Taylor Pierce each had 18 points, but Idaho could not keep pace with a hot shooting Northern Colorado and saw their NCAA Tournament hopes dashed.
PHOTO: GOVANDALS.COM

RENO, Nev. – A hot-shooting Northern Colorado Bears squad was too much to overcome on Saturday in the Big Sky Championship game, with Idaho falling, 91-69. The Vandals have already earned an automatic bid to the 2018 WNIT, and will find out their destination and opponent on Monday.

How it Happened

Northern Colorado stole a page out of the Vandals' playbook and let it fly from distance. The Bears connected on 14-of-25 from 3, including 9-of-12 in the first half.

Big Sky Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Savannah Smith led the 3-point barrage. Her 3 to end the first quarter put the Bears up 19-16. She hit again at the start of the second to give UNC a six-point lead. She closed the afternoon 5-for-6 from deep and went 11-of-18 from the field for 34 points.

The Vandals led five times in the first. A 7-0 run in the second put Idaho up 23-22 with 6:32 left on the clock. The Bears followed with an 11-0 run to go up by 10, 33-23. The two sides swapped the lead eight times in the first half.

UNC pushed the lead to 24 points in the third quarter, slimming the Vandals chances for a comeback.

Geraldine McCorkell led the way for Idaho with 20 points and nine rebounds. The Splash Sisters, Mikayla Ferenz and Taylor Pierce, added 18 points each. Pierce knocked down four 3-pointers, giving her a Big Sky Tournament record 20 3's, breaking Ferenz's record of 16 set in 2016. The duo was selected to the All-Tournament team after the game.

Idaho set a number of Big Sky Tournament records, including made 3's with 36, breaking their own record set in 2016.

Keys

The Vandals could not find an answer for the Bears' hot shooting. UNC shot 75 percent from 3 in each of the first two quarters, including a 6-for-8 performance in the second quarter.

UNC added five more 3's in the second half. They added an 18-for-32 (56.2 percent) showing in the half to close out the Vandals.

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