GREELEY, Colorado – Idaho State dropped a hard-fought battle in Greeley Saturday night after Northern Colorado's Savannah Smith drained four free throws in the final second of play to secure the 60-56 win. Idaho State is now 10-6 with a 5-2 record in Big Sky play while Northern Colorado improved to 11-6 and 6-2 in conference play.
After clawing back from an 11-point deficit, the Bengals put themselves in a position to win the game late. UNC's Smith missed a layup with 32 seconds left and
Estefania Ors grabbed the rebound with less than 30 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Idaho State held the ball near the top of the arc until the clock hit four seconds and
Saylair Grandon put her head down to drive to the lane. Smith planted in her path and drew a charge with 1.9 seconds left, which sparked a technical foul from ISU's bench. The reigning Big Sky MVP then knocked down four-consecutive free throws to seal the game.
"It just kind of tells you a little more about the team we have and the type of character they have," said Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski. "I go in the locker room and all I can do is apologize. We didn't play well in the first quarter, but they fought and they battled and
Saylair Grandon was making plays all over the place."
Grandon led Idaho State with 20 points after going 7-18 from the field. The senior was on the court for 37 minutes and added six rebounds and four steals.
Ors followed with 11 points and led the team with three assists.
Sai Tapasa was the only other player in double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The teams were within one percent of each other in field goal percentage with Northern Colorado holding a slight edge at 43.5 percent. Idaho State did hold Northern Colorado to just 4-21 shooting from three and forced 19 turnovers with 10 steals.
UNC limited ISU to just eight assists and forced 13 turnovers with seven steals. The Bears controlled the boards with 32 rebounds to ISU's 27. UNC was also 16-19 from the free-throw line.
The Bengals fell behind early with the Bears nearly doubling ISU's output over the first 10 minutes of play. They battled back in the second behind the charge of Grandon, outscoring UNC 19-10 to cut the lead to two points at halftime.
The teams remained neck-and-neck after each scoring 13 points in the third quarter. The Bengals tied the game three times in the fourth but were never able to secure the lead. Ors tied the game at 54 with 1:47 remaining and then again with a midrange jumper and less than a minute to play, setting up the dramatic finish.
"They said it's okay coach, it never comes down to one play," Sobolewski said. "That's the type of people they are and how blessed am I to get to coach a team like that."
Idaho State limited Smith to 3-14 shooting from the field, but she reached 20 points by going 12-12 from the free throw line. Bridget Hintz and Krysta Leger-Walker each tallied 11 points and shot better than 50 percent. Hintz also combined with Ali Meyer for 14 rebounds.
The Bengals are back inside Reed Gym next week after playing 10 of their first 16 games on the road. Idaho State hosts Montana at 7 p.m. Thursday night and Montana State at 2 p.m. Saturday.
