BOULDER, Colo. - In the final game of a four-game road trip, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team couldn't contain Colorado and eventually fell to the Buffaloes 67-56 in non-conference action at the Coors Events Center.
The win moves Colorado to 9-4 as it enters into Big 12 play on Jan. 8 against Texas A&M. The loss was the third in a row for UND (2-11), who will finally make its return to Grand Forks after playing the majority of December on the road.
"I thought our players played with a heart today," said UND head coach Gene Roebuck. "They came out and they battled and just kept going and going. That's the way we need to play. Maybe we're starting to find out a little bit about ourselves and that we need to play with that type of emotion. But I really thought our players battled today. It seemed like the [Colorado] was the tired team and they're used to playing at this altitude."
Colorado led by as much as 18 points (12:12) in the opening half, but the Sioux were able to chip the margin down to 12 before heading into the locker-room trailing 41-26. On the other side of the break, senior captain Mallory Youngblut (F, Davenport, Iowa) used a pair of three-pointers and a field goal to pull UND to within 10 points (44-34) with 16:59 on the clock.
"We are not a team that is going to quit," said Youngblut. "We were down quite a bit in that first half, but we aren't going to give up at any point in time.
"It's about the little battles at this point. It was an 11-point game and we had the opportunities to win it. Cut down on some turnovers and board a little better and we're right there."
Youngblut led the Sioux with 19 points for her fourth straight game in double-figures. She shot 7-for-13 from the field, 3-for-4 beyond the arc and was a perfect 2-for-2 at the free throw line. Youngblut also added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals during her 38 minutes on the court.
The teams traded baskets through the 16-minute mark until a three-pointer by Colorado's Brittany Spears sparked a 17-2 run for the Buffaloes to swell the lead to 61-36 with 10:41 left to go. Inside the run, Meagan Malcolm-Peck notched nine of her eventual 11 points off of the bench. She finished the game with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Spears led the team with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-7 mark at three-point range. She also went 2-for-2 at the free throw line and nabbed nine rebounds.
Heading into the final half of the game, the Buffaloes managed to maintain their 20-point lead until five straight points from junior Charnise Mothershed (G, Phoenix, Ariz.) launched the Sioux into a 13-3 run to chop the margin down to just 11 points as time expired.
Mothershed finished with 11 points - her first double digit game since she score 12 points in the season opener against New Mexico State (Nov. 13). She scored all of her nine second half points in the final eight minutes.
"Charnise was making some really good cuts to the basket and was able to find the open spots on the weakside," said Youngblut. "She did a really good job."
UND finished 20-for-54 (.370) from the field, 4-for-13 (.308) from behind the arc, and 12-for-15 (.800) at the free throw line.
Colorado shot .424 (25-for-59) from the field, .286 (.8-for-28) at three-point range, and .643 (9-for-14) at the free throw line.
To add to the CU high scoring, Brittany Wilson finished with 15 points and Chucky Jeffery had 11 points and eight rebounds
The Fighting Sioux notched a season-high 18 steals, but were beat on the boards 43-31.
The Fighting Sioux will finally make their return to Grand Forks as they play host to Western Kentucky on Monday, Jan. 10. Tipoff between UND and WKU is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
GAME NOTES: Mallory Youngblut is now ranked 28th all-time at UND with 1,036 points ... Tonight's game marked the series opener between North Dakota and Colorado ... Since the beginning the transition to NCAA Division I status in 2007, the Fighting Sioux have gone 0-4 against members of the Big 12 Conference ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 11-1 against league foes and 8-24 against non-conferenced opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 770-292 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 594-128 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 419-83 (.835) when it comes to defending their own court and are 323-39 (.892) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 85-14 (.859) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.
- Go Sioux -
