GREELEY, Colo. – Sacramento State led by 10 points midway through the second half and was still up eight with five minutes to play but Northern Colorado ended the game on a 12-2 run, holding the Hornets scoreless over the last three minutes to pick up a 78-76 win on Thursday in Greeley.

Sacramento State (11-14, 9-5 Big Sky) dropped into a tie for third place in the Big Sky as the other top three teams in the league, Montana, North Dakota, and Eastern Washington, all won on Thursday. The Hornets are tied with North Dakota at two games behind Montana while Eastern Washington moved half a game ahead into second place.

Northern Colorado (14-11, 8-6 Big Sky) moved just one game behind the Hornets and UND in fifth place and split its season series with Sacramento State. The Hornets play their final road game of the season at noon Saturday at North Dakota in a critical game for both teams if they want to keep their regular season title hopes alive.

On Thursday the Hornets led Northern Colorado 74-66 with less than five minutes to play and were still up five, 76-71, with less than three minutes left. A three from Katie Longwell followed by a Stephanie Lee jumper after a Hornet turnover brought the Bears even 76-76 with 2:11 left. The teams traded missed shots and the score was still tied with the Hornets inbounding the ball with 27 seconds remaining.

Northern Colorado got a steal off the inbounds pass and drew a foul on the other side with eight seconds left. Lee made the first free throw but missed the second, but Longwell tracked down the rebound and was fouled. She missed her first free throw but UNC got another offensive rebound from D'Shara Strange. She then made the first free throw and missed the second and Hornet senior Fantasia Hilliard grabbed the rebound with four seconds left, and her heave from midcourt at the buzzer drew iron but bounced off.

For the second consecutive Thursday the Hornets lost by one possession after falling 80-79 to Eastern Washington one week ago. Sacramento State made 13-of-37 (35%) from 3-point range and was 11-of-12 from the free throw line on Thursday but the squad was just 13-of-30 on 2-point shots.

Sacramento State leads the NCAA with 21 offensive rebounds per game but was beaten on the offensive glass on Thursday as the Bears had a 19-15 edge in o-boards and outscored the visitors 20-14 in second chance points. UNC shot 47% overall and 8-of-21 (38%) from 3-point range while committing a relatively low 19 turnovers while forcing 16 Hornet giveaways.

Neither team led by more than five points in a competitive first half, with the Hornets ending the half on a 14-5 run over the last four minutes to lead by five, 42-37, at halftime. Sacramento State had a game-high 72-62 lead following a 3-point make from senior Andrea Chenier with 7:35 to play and led for the first 18 minutes of the second half before the Bears rallied late.

Chenier was perfect on the evening, going 5-of-5 from the field with a 4-of-4 mark from 3-point range to lead the Hornets with 14 points. She was 4-of-4 in the first half but attempted just one shot in eight minutes played in the second half. Sophomore Hallie Gennett and freshman Maranne Johnson each scored 11 points, with Johnson adding five steals and four rebounds. Hilliard finished with eight points and nine assists.

Eleven different Hornets scored in the game and eleven players also had at least one rebound. Lee totaled 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three blocks while Strange had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Bears, who had a 46-36 overall rebounding edge and had 12 of their 19 offensive boards in the game in the second half.