Larimer News

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Colorado State had its hands full Thursday night as Northern Iowa started the game scoring 54 points in the first half on 19-of-26 shooting, including 10-of-13 from behind the arc. The Rams couldn't recover from the hot start, suffering an 88-76 loss to end their season with a 20-12 record.

Colorado State was without All-American starter McKenna Hofschild and forward Cali Clark for the first-round game due to injuries.

Northern Iowa shot a blistering 73.1 percent from the floor on 19-of-26 shooting – missing just seven shots all half. UNI also was hot from behind the arch, hitting 10-of-13. Colorado State shot well, just not as well, at 48.3 percent on 14-of-29 and 5-of-12 from deep. Destiny Thurman and Meghan Boyd both reached double-digits in the first half with 11 and 10, respectfully. UNI took advantage of pushing the ball scoring 12 points on fast breaks and was 10-of-13 from the charity strip – nine more attempts than CSU had in the half.

UNI extended its lead to 24 points – its largest of the game with 6:59 left to play in the third quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers. Colorado State whittled away at its deficit and got within 13 after Marta Leimane hit a deep three with 3:17 left in the frame. From there, the Panthers finished the quarter on a 9-4 run to lead by 17 with 10 minutes left to play.

In the final frame, Colorado State used a 9-0 run to get the score within 10 – after a trailing by as many 24 points early in the second half. CSU's offense went cold from there, missing a jumper while UNI drew an and-one to lead by 13 with under 80 seconds left.

Marta Leimane led all scorers in the second half scoring 13 points, while Thurman added 12. The Rams outscored UNI in the second half 39-22.

Thurman led all scorers for the game with 23 points on 8-of-15, followed by 17 from Leimane on 7-of-9 shooting. Cailyn Crocker and Meghan Boyd both reached double-figures with 12 and 11, respectfully. Thurman also handled the boards for CSU with seven and hit 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Colorado State had eight turnovers, which UNI turned into 16 points. 

Original source can be found here.