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GREELEY, Colo. - Behind a career-night from both freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke and junior center Brittany Fernandez, the Northern Colorado women's basketball won its Big Sky Conference opener for the first time, defeating Northern Arizona 66-56. The win is the third straight and the fifth in six tries for the Bears as they improve to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in league action. Northern Arizona falls to 2-12 on the year.

Oosdyke tallied her second career double-double, leading the team with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Fernandez added seven points, a career-best 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Both senior guard Whitley Cox and junior guard Courtney Stoermer scored 14 points.

"Lauren has been really consistent for us all year," said Head Coach Jaime White. "And Brittany had a great week, her putbacks were great. She's had a lot of offensive rebounds for us, but it's icing on the cake when she finishes it. I thought we battled through early foul trouble - Whitley was out a lot but we definitely hit some big shots. The three's in the second half built us a decent cushion."

Forward Lauren Hoisington led Northern Arizona with 16 points, while Caty Huntington came off the bench to add 13 points, four steals and two blocked shots. Jenna Galloway led the Lumberjacks with seven rebounds.

Stoermer, as she has done all season, shut down the ‘Jacks top scorer as freshman Amy Patton scored just five points after entering the game averaging 16.5.

Oosdyke tied her career-high in the first half with 12 points and led all players with seven rebounds and had two blocked shots. The Bears shot .333 from the field, and held the Lumberjacks to .314. Neither team made a three-pointer in the first stanza with NAU going 0-for-6 and NC 0-for-9.

NC did not make a field goal in the final 6:30 of the first half, but went 8-for-10 from the free throw line, bettering the 4-for-9 start from the charity stripe.

In the second half, Stoermer led the way with 11 points, while Fernandez had seven of her 10 boards and the team shot much better from beyond the arc, making 4-of-9 and hit 12-of-14 from the charity stripe.

In the game, Northern Colorado shot .365 from the floor (19-for-52), .222 from the three-point line (4-of-18) and .727 (24-of-33) from the free throw line. Northern Arizona shot .353 (24-of-68), .154 (2-of-13) and .667 (6-of-9), respectively.

"The progression in who we've played and how we've won has built confidence," said White. "It's been good for us and the team is really excited about Big Sky play."

The Bears continue Big Sky Conference play on the road playing at Weber State on Friday and Idaho State on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip at 7:05 p.m.

Notes:
*For the first time since Feb. 13, 2009 against Black Hills State (Kate Kevorken 13, Whitley Cox 10) the Bears have had two players in double figures in rebounds. Lauren Oosdyke led with 12, while Brittany Fernandez recorded 10.
*Lauren Oosdyke's double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds is the second of her career and the third this season by a Bear (Jayne Strand).
*Northern Colorado has now outrebounded four straight opponents, outrebounding NAU 46-37.
*This is the first time since joining the Big Sky Conference four years ago the Bears have won the league opener.
*Tonight marked the seventh game this season and the 26^th time in her career Courtney Stoermer has been on the floor for the entire contest.
*The seven blocked shots by Northern Colorado is a season-high for the team.