Weber State University women’s basketball continued their Big Sky-Summit League Challenge against North Dakota State University on Dec. 6.
Weber rode a 4-game losing streak as they returned back to Dee Events Center. After a win against Utah Tech University in the middle of November, they lost games against Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University, the University of Utah and South Dakota State University, dropping their record to 2–6 on the season.
The Wildcats took on the Bisons, whose season was going in a different direction, having won their last four, improving their record to 6–2.
Weber started the game by forcing three turnovers in North Dakota’s first five possessions. They turned that into a 4–0 lead.
The Wildcats held that lead up until 3:44 left in the first quarter when the Bisons took a 13–12 lead. They then fought back and led 21–20 in the first quarter.
Antoniette Emma-Nnopu’s 11 points led the Wildcats. The forward went 4–7 from the field, including 3–3 from three after going 2-for-13 in the Wildcats’ first eight games of the season.
“It was great to see, she hits them all the time in practice,” Head Coach Jenteal Jackson said. “So nice to see it translate to the game. We’ve given her the green light to do it because she’s getting the reps and she feels comfortable and confident.”
The second quarter continued to be tightly contested with neither team holding a lead of more than three points.
Weber benefitted from North Dakota guard Abby Graham’s foul and a technical foul at the end of the first half due to a hold and some choice words for the official. Lanae Billy made one of two of the technical free throws and Emma-Nnopu made both of her free throws.
Weber State shot 56.5% from the field, 75% from three, to North Dakota’s 62.5% (50%) as they went into halftime tied 40–40.
Emma-Nnopu accounted for 16 of the Wildcats’ 40 points in the first half.
“Tonight was pretty heavy, Ant(oniette)-wise,” Jackson said. “The other kids could step up a lot more … We will be a little bit more balanced scoring moving forward.”
North Dakota State came out of the locker room applying pressure on Weber State. The Wildcats struggled to find open court on offense resulting in them shooting 30.8% from the field. NDSU dominated the third quarter outscoring the Wildcats 24–13, helping them to the largest lead, 64–53, of the game going into the final quarter.
While the Wildcats improved in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to secure their third win of the season. They faced a ten-point deficit with under four minutes left and made it a 6-point game with 1:30 remaining. That was as close as they would get, falling 79–72 to the Bison.
Emma-Nnopu led the Wildcats with 27 points, accounting for 37.5% of the team’s 72 points. She finished 8-for-14 from the field, 3-for-4 from three, and 8-for-10 from the line to go with three steals and three blocks. However, she is more focused on the end result.
“I was just going to win,” Emma-Nnopu said. “I’m sick of losing.”
Weber’s field goal percentage dropped significantly in the second half. After shooting 56.5% in the first half, they shot 40% in the second half.
NDSU’s pressure and energy out of half led to the Wildcats’ drop in production.
“I thought they made some adjustments,” Jackson said. “They cranked some things up. They definitely picked up full court to just tire us out … That 7–0 stretch they went on ultimately decided the game, losing by seven. We got to be better there, learn from it, move on and hopefully adjust it moving forward.”
Weber’s personnel was limited because of a sickness that spread through the team.
“We only played eight kids tonight,” Jackson said. “We were a little bit down from some sickness.”
The Wildcats will be back home on Dec. 9 at 11 a.m. to take on Montana Western University.
