OMAHA, Neb. - A fourth-quarter rally from
Sarai Estupiñan and the Omaha Women's Basketball team fell short as Northern Colorado earned a 71-60 win Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena as part of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
Northern Colorado (8-2) opened a 19-point lead in the third quarter before Omaha (1-8) cut its deficit to single digits in the closing minutes.
Estupiñan (Cedar Park, Texas) scored 15 of her 23 points in the final eight minutes as she also hit a career-best five 3-pointers. Junior
Ali Stephens (Fort Wayne, Ind.) added 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
First-year Omaha head coach
Jamie Carey said she liked the passion her team played with Saturday.
"I'm asking a lot of my kids. It's hard to come in every single day and give everything you got, but they did that today. They played their tails off," Carey said.
A scrappy half-court defense kept Omaha within single digits throughout the first half against the Bears.
The Mavericks took their first at 13-12 when sophomore
Daria Shelby (Canton, Mich.) drove into the lane and hit a short jumper. Freshman
Leekaya Burke Perryman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) followed with a steal and a layup to make it 15-12 with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
Omaha forced 11 turnovers in the first 12 minutes. But thanks to its work on the glass, Northern Colorado took a 30-22 lead into halftime.
The Bears grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the first half, then hit four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half to expand its lead to 46-27. But that was the biggest lead of the day.
"I was glad with our response," Carey said.
An Estupiñan three cut Omaha's deficit to 61-53 with 3:05 left. However, that's as close as Omaha got as Northern Colorado hit 10 free throws in the final 2:45.
Northern Colorado finished with a 41-20 rebounding edge. For Omaha, freshman
Avril Smith (Omaha, Neb.) finished with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Omaha returns to action Tuesday night when it plays Nebraska in Lincoln.
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