Jan. 28, 2012

While their male counterparts are finding it tough to get road victories in the GWC, the three women's games in the Great West on Saturday saw the road teams gain the victories. North Dakota won at defending GWC champion Chicago State, 77-68, while Utah Valley defeated NJIT, 61-54, and Houston Baptist fell to Texas-Pan American, 55-41.

Utah Valley 61, NJIT 54

NEWARK, N.J. -- Utah Valley trailed by 10 with 15:16 to play, but answered with a huge 25-4 run over the next 13 minutes to defeat NJIT, 61-54, at the Fleisher Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. Sammie Jensen led the Wolverines with a double-double, finishing with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.

UVU's second half run came on the heels of an equally impressive run from NJIT, as the homestanding Highlanders responded to an eight point first half deficit with a 19-3 rally, capped by back-to-back-to-back treys, to take a 29-21 lead at the break. NJIT then ripped off seven consecutive points early in the second period to build a 10 point cushion, its largest lead of the game, with 15:16 remaining.

At that point, Erika Newbold drilled an 18-footer then converted a layup inside to ignite UVU's rally. The run, powered by a stalwart defensive effort and solid post play from Newbold and Jensen, saw the Wolverines limit NJIT to just two field goals and force seven turnovers over a thirteen minute span. Newbold scored eight of her 13 points during the pivotal stretch, while Jensen added four. UVU also got six points apiece from Cydne Mason and Whitney Jenkins, whose right-handed runner in transition culminated the series and gave UVU a 51-40 advantage.

NJIT (8-13, 2-2 GWC) kept things interesting, getting jumpers from Sarah Olson and Melanie Griffin in the closing moments, but the Wolverines put the game away at the foul line on their way to shooting 26-for-35 (74 percent) for the game at the charity stripe. NJIT was perfect from the line on the afternoon but with only four attempts for the game.

Three Wolverines finished in double figures, led by Jensen's 21 and followed by Newbold's 13 and Jenkins' 11. Jensen also grabbed 12 rebounds for Utah Valley (10-10, 2-1 GWC).

NJIT was led by Rayven Johnson's double-double performance--18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Denisa Domiterova added 12 points.

North Dakota 77, Chicago State 68

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Led by a career-high 21 points from Nicole Smart and a career-first double-double for Emily Evers, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team avenged its 2011 Great West Conference Tournament title game loss to Chicago State and snapped a three-game losing streak against the Cougars with a 77-68 victory at the Jones Convocation Center.

Smart netted a career-high five three-pointers in the first half, including two in the first six minutes, to post the first 20-point game of her career. Evers registered a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double. It was not only her first career double-double, but it also marked the first time in her career with double-figure rebounds.

Following a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from CSU'd Janay Dockery to start the game, Smart chimed in with her first trey of the night. Natalie Marlowe responded with a three of her own for the Cougars, but outside of the media timeout (15:28), Smart drained yet another three-pointer to pull UND to within two. Seconds later, Katie Houdek was caught on the arm as she went up for the shot at the block. With two from the free throw line, she knotted things at 8-8 with 14:32 on the clock.

Through the ensuing two and a half minutes, the game hit three more ties as the teams traded baskets, both from the field and at the free throw line.

On its first possession outside of the 12-minute media timeout (11:18), UND's Charnise Mothershed dialed in from distance to give North Dakota its first lead of the afternoon (17-14). The three-pointer propelled UND into a 20-4 run that would take it to an eventual 34-18 lead. Inside the run, Smart hit three more three-pointers to bring her total to a career-high and a UND season-high five.

Chicago State responded with a short clip of its own, posting seven unanswered points to finish the half and trail UND, 34-25 at the break.

In the second half, CSU netted two more baskets to pull within five points. The 11-0 run, which started in the first half, made it 34-29 with 17:52 remaining in the game.

North Dakota responded with a quick 5-0 run to extend its the lead back into double digits, but Chicago State's Tierra Williams knocked it back down with her lone three of the night. After trading baskets, UND's Carly Rothfusz hit back-to-back three-pointers to kick start a 12-3 run and give North Dakota a 53-36 lead with 11:47 remaining.

UND worked to hold off Chicago State, but with a 15-7 run, including a trio of three-pointers, the Cougars moved to within nine points (60-51) with just 6:55 left. After regaining its double-figure advantage, the Cougars again knocked it down to singles.

With 10 points apiece, Wall and Houdek joined Smart and Evers on the list of UND high scorers. Charnay Mothershed shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line and dished out a season-high-tying six assists.

North Dakota (11-10, 2-1 GWC) shot 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from three-point range, and 74.1 percent (20-for-27) at the free throw line. UND scored 21 points off of Chicago State's 20 turnovers and netted 16 on second chances.

With 21 points, Dockery led the Cougars on 4-for-14 shooting from the field, including a pair of three pointers, and a 10-for-11 showing at the free throw line. Tierra Williams shot 5-for-7 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range, and made one free throw to finish with 14 points.

UND held Chicago State (4-17, 2-2 GWC) to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and a 42.9 percent clip behind the three-point arc. The Cougars shot 65.2 percent at the free throw line.

Texas-Pan American 55, Houston Baptist 41

HOUSTON, Texas -- The University of Texas-Pan American went on a 17-0 run during the second half to come from behind to defeat Houston Baptist, 55-41, on Saturday at Sharp Gym.

The Huskies (1-18, 0-3 GWC) led 32-27 six minutes into the second half, but that's when the Broncs (9-12, 2-1 GWC) started their 17-0 run. Donna Jackson hit three-straight baskets, Johnondra Patterson converted a three-point play, Erin Lewis hit a jumper, Adanna Opara hit back-to-back baskets and then Patterson hit a jumper to cap the run with the Broncs leading 44-32 at the 9:16 mark.

Jackson led all scorers with 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Patterson scored a career-high 13 points on a career-best 5-of-8 shooting, to go with a career-high seven rebounds and a career-high four steals. Opara scored nine points with a game-high 11 rebounds and Keandra Goodson scored four points with nine rebounds.

The Broncs out-rebounded the Huskies 55-45 while out-shooting them .338 (24-for-71) to .226 (12-53).

Jackson hit a pair of jumpers and Opara sunk a lay-up, on an assist by Jackson, as the Broncs took an early 6-2 lead.

The Huskies took the lead at 11-8 on a three-pointer by Brittany Barton, but Goodson and Patterson hit back-to-back baskets to put the Broncs back on top.

The Broncs led 17-13 on a Jackson basket with 5:49 left in the first half, but the Huskies closed the half on an 8-2 run to go ahead 21-19.

The Huskies were led in scoring by Tayler Jefferson, who scored 10 points, while Devyn Weymouth pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.