Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – Two late free throws in overtime by Sandra Viksrtye gave Northern Arizona an 84-83 win over Colorado in the first round of the San Juan Shootout at the Mario Morales Coliseum.
Colorado’s Anna Nedovic went 11-for-15 from the floor for a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Buffaloes (3-5) next play the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 6 p.m. today.
CU led 83-80 with 1:39 left in overtime, but Northern Arizona cut the lead to 83-82 as Natalie Metz hit 2-of-4 free throws in span of 54 seconds.
CU’s Jasmina Ilic missed a jumper with :26 left, and Northern Arizona set up for the last shot. Metz missed two shots in the final 11 seconds, but the Lumberjacks got both offensive rebounds. Viksrtye’s last-second attempt was no good, but a foul was called on CU guard Lauren Lubin as time expired.
Four-tenths of a second was put back on the clock, and Viksrtye hit both free throws for the win.
The Buffaloes were plagued by foul trouble, as Jackie McFarland, who entered the tournament as the nation’s second-leading scorer at 23.7 points per game, fouled out with more than nine minutes remaining in the game. She finished with four points.
NORTHERN ARIZONA (6-3)
Porter 6-10 8-8 20, Wahl 10-20 3-4 23, Cunningham 4-8 2-2 10, Metz 1-5 2-4 4, Eason 2-8 0-0 4, Winkfield 3-6 1-2 7, Viksrtye 5-10 6-6 16, Brown 0-1 0-1 0, Dinkins 0-0 0-2 0, Hopper 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-69 22-29 84.
COLORADO (3-5)
Nedovic 11-15 2-3 25, Ilic 3-16 10-12 16, McFarland 1-3 2-2 4, Lubin 3-5 3-6 11, Law 3-8 7-7 14, Skildum 4-7 0-0 8, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Escalera 1-6 3-4 5, Dow 0-3 0-0 0, Garnett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 27-34 83.
Halftime – Colorado 36-32. Regulation – 76-76. 3-point goals – N. Ariz. 0-5 (Wahl 0-1, Metz 0-1, Brown 0-1, Winkfield 0-2); Colorado 4-8 (Lubin 2-2, Nedovic 1-1, Law 1-1, Escalera 0-1, Ilic 0-3). Fouled out – Porter; McFarland, Skildum). Rebounds – N. Ariz. 36 (Wahl 10); Colorado 48 (Nedovic 11). Assists – N. Ariz. 19 (Winkfield 6); Colorado 19 (Law 4). Total fouls – N. Ariz. 24; Colorado 23. A – 115.
