UNC Mirror

Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Felicia Sheumaker University of Northern Colorado junior guard Whitley Cox shoots over Pacific's Kelsey Lavender during the Bears 67-58 win against the Tigers on Sunday. UNC is now 4-3 on the season.

After scoring a season high 26 points, junior guard Whitley Cox didn't seem overly thrilled about her team's victory.

Instead, she seemed just happy to come out with a win.

In a foul and turnover filled game, the University of Northern Colorado women's basketball team defeated the Pacific Tigers 67-58 on Sunday in the first meeting between the two teams. The win pushed UNC back above .500 and kept them undefeated at home this year.

After the game, Cox was a bit reluctant to get too excited about the victory.

"I thought today was a sloppy win," Cox said. "Although, we'll take the win, even if it is sloppy."

With the Tigers (3-4) committing a multitude of mistakes, the Bears (4-3) were able to make up for their own shortcomings and rally from an early deficit to secure the win.

The Bears converted 26 of their 34 free throw attempts to take advantage of the 27 personal fouls committed by the Tigers. It was that 76.5 percent shooting from the free throw line, according to junior guard Jamie Schroeder, that helped the Bears win. Schroeder, who made all four of her free throw attempts, finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds on 4 of 15 shooting.

"Coach is always saying free throws, free throws, free throws," Schroeder said. "Second half we stepped up and hit them, so that was good."

The Bears shot 80 percent from the charity stripe in the second half.

Schroeder's first career double-double also helped give the Bears a boost on a night when Cox, who was suffering from the flu, committed a team high eight turnovers.

"I really believe Jamie can get a double-double every game for us," coach Jaime White said. "That's why we recruited her in the first place."

After jumping out to an early eight-point lead, the Bears fought back to take a 12-point lead with 12:39 remaining in the game. Led by senior center Danielle Hagan and Schroeder, who both finished with 11 rebounds, the Bears out-rebounded the Tigers 51-44.

The Bears also tightened up on defense as the game progressed, as they held Pacific junior forward Janae Young, the Tigers' leading scorer, to only 4 points. Heading into the game, Young was averaging 13.8 points per game.

Adding to their troubles, the Tigers shot 17.9 percent from 3-point range, converting only five of their 28 attempts from beyond the arc.

UNC is now faced with the task of preparing to host Air Force (3-4) on Wednesday at Butler Hancock Sports Pavilion. Though admitting it would be nice to have a break and let her players get healthy, White is ready for the challenge of preparing her players for the Falcons.

"Air Force will be a totally different scout," White said. "They're a different team than this team. I thought our zone defense was good tonight. We're gonna have to play zone against Air Force, so we're gonna have to fine tune that."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools