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Closing The First Half
The games on Friday and Saturday against Montana and Montana State, respectively, will close out the first half of Big Sky Conference play for the Bears. Northern Colorado enters the weekend with a 2-4 record and has five of seven of the second-half games in Butler-Hancock.

Last Time Out
Despite getting the first triple-double since Northern Colorado went Division I, the Bears' couldn't pick up its first-ever win in Sacramento on Thursday, falling 72-60. Junior guard Courtney Stoermer ended the game with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Junior forward Jayne Strand and freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke also added double-doubles as Strand scored 12 and had 11 rebounds, nine on the offensive end of the floor, and Oosdyke had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

NC vs Montana
The Bears are looking for their first-ever victory against the Lady Griz. Montana owns a 6-0 record against the Blue & Gold with all six meetings coming in Big Sky action. NC is 0-3 in both Greeley and Missoula against Montana.

NC vs Montana State
Northern Colorado is 2-5 against the Bobcats all-time, which includes a 2-4 mark in Big Sky Conference action. Last year the two teams split with each team winning on its home floor. In Bozeman, the Bears are 1-2 against the Bobcats and are 1-3 in Greeley.

Scouting Montana
Montana is 9-9 on the year with a 4-2 mark in Big Sky Conference play. Besides league opponents, both the Lady Griz and Bears have faced Colorado State. Montana lost in the opening game of the year, 72-64, while NC won 65-56. Lauren Beck leads Montana with 12.1 points per game, while Sarah Ena is averaging 11.6 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds. The Lady Griz are currently in third place in the league standings with their 4-2 mark but are 8-1 at home this season.

Scouting Montana State
The Bobcats have the identical record of the Bears at 9-10 overall and 2-4 in league play. The two teams did not have any common opponents outside of league play this season so far as the Bobcats lost at Denver but the Bears have yet to face the Pioneers. Colorado product Katie Bussey leads the team with 13.9 points per game, while Sarah Strand is the only other player in double figures with 13.4 a game. She also leads the team with 6.9 rebounding average. The Bobcats are 6-5 at home this season with a 2-2 record in league play.

On This Date
The Bears have a good record in games played on Jan. 29 historically at 8-3 and are 5-2 on the road. Last season, the team lost against Sacramento State 71-53, snapping a three-game winning streak. The last road game on the 29th was back in 2000. On Jan. 30, the Bears have a .500 record at 3-3 with a 1-1 mark on the road. The Blue & Gold have not played since 1999 on the 30th of the first month.

Triple Threat
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer recorded the first triple double in Division I school history on Thursday at Sacramento State with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the first time this season Stoermer recorded double figures in rebounds and the 10 assists is a season high and second on her career-high list, next to the 12 assists she tallied in 2008 against the Hornets. Her triple double is also the first in the Big sky this season.

Double Trouble
To go along with junior guard Courtney Stoermer's triple double on Thursday, both junior forward Jayne Strand and freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke each had double figures in both points and rebounds. Strand scored 12 and had 11 rebounds and Oosdyke had 11 points and 10 rebounds. It marked the first time since Nov. 22, 2003, at Colorado State-Pueblo the Bears had three players with double figures in points and rebounds. Strand now has two double-doubles on the year, while Oosdyke has three.

Iron Woman
Senior guard Whitley Cox has played in 110 games in her career at Northern Colorado. The school record for most games played is 113 games by both Danielle Hagen (2003-08) and Kara Ketterer (1996-00). Junior guard Courtney Stoermer is next on the active list with 79 games played.

Taking Care of the Ball
Both senior guard Lizzie Cooper and junior guard Courtney Stoermer have positive assist-to-turnover ratios for the season. Cooper has 29 assists and 24 turnovers, while Stoermer has 56 assists and 52 turnovers.

Total Team Effort
Northern Colorado has used a team effort this season as five different players have led in scoring, six have led at least once in rebounds, five have led in assists and six have led in steals. Senior Whitley Cox had led 13 times in scoring, freshman Lauren Oosdyke has led eight times in rebounding, while junior guard Courtney Stoermer leads with nine games led in assists and seven games in steals.

Indicators of Wins
Northern Colorado is 8-1 this season when the team leads at halftime and they are 5-0 when they score between 71-80 points this season. The Bears are also 5-1 in 2009-10 when they record more steals than the opponent.

Crashing The Glass
In the last four games and in seven of the last nine contests the players coming off the bench have recorded at least as many if not more offensive rebounds than the starters. In a total of 16 games this year, the players off the bench have given the Bears more second chance opportunities than the starters.

Lucky Number Six
For the second time this year, sophomore forward Kaisha Brown tied the Division I school record for three-pointers in a game with six against Portland State. Brown scored a career-best 21 points in the win, hitting 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. It was the 10th time since the transition a Bear has made six triples in a contest. Brown now ranks eighth on the Division I list for career three-pointers with 78. The current career D-I mark is 144 by Heather Barbour (2003-07).

Scoring At Will
Senior guard Whitley Cox scored 349 points in 28 games last season (12.5 per game) and is now just 16 points shy of that total going into the 20th game of the year. Cox leads the team and ranks third in the Big Sky Conference averaging 17.5 points per game.

20-20 Vision
When senior guard Whitley Cox (22) and sophomore forward Kaisha Brown (21) each scored over 20 points in the win against Portland State, it marked the first time since the overtime game against Montana State on Jan. 22, 2009 the Bears had two players score 20 or more in the same game. Against the Bobcats, Courtney Stoermer scored 22, while Cox had 31. The last regulation game to have two with 20 or more was against Washington State on Nov. 28, 2008 when Kate Kevorken scored 23 and Jamie Schroeder added 20.

Free Throw Facts
In the final five minutes of a game, with the margin on the scoreboard 10 or less, the Bears are shooting .705 (43-for-61) on the season but are at .778 (28-for-36) since the end of finals.

Back To Back
Senior guard Whitley Cox became just the third player in Northern Colorado history to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors and she did so in back-to-back weeks after leading the Bears to a 3-1 mark over a four-game home stretch. Cox is the first player since Mandy Morales from Montana earned back-to-back nods in Jan/Feb of last season.

Making The Free Ones
In the win over Colorado State, the Bears shot .938 from the free throw line, making 15 of 16. The percentage ties the school Division I record from Dec. 2, 2005 at Nevada with a minimum of 10 made.

The Watch List
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer is inching closer the 1,000 point milestone in her career. She currently has 935 points, needing just 65 more to become the 15th player in school history to score 1,000. With her current season scoring average of 13.2 per game she should break the barrier against Idaho State on Feb. 11.

Closing In
Several players are approaching career milestones. Friday will mark the 50th game played for sophomore forward Kaisha Brown. She needs just 15 rebounds for 150 in her career. Senior guard Lizzie Cooper is just two three-pointers shy of making 50 in her career and needs 15 rebounds for 200. Senior guard Whitley Cox also needs just two triples for 50 in her career and is 19 points shy of 1400. Freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke needs nine rebounds for 150 and is 20 points shy of 200. The next block will be the 50th of junior guard Courtney Stoermer's career.

Stop Thief!
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer leads the team with 32 steals on the season and is currently tied for seventh all-time with 143. She is also just 46 shy of the school record of 189 steals held by Renee L'Heureux (1981-85).

Climbing Cox
With 14 points in the opener at New Mexico, senior guard Whitley Cox now ranks in the top-10 in scoring at Northern Colorado. She has 333 points on the year bringing her career tally to 1,381 to rank sixth. With 29 more points she will move into fourth past Shelley Lindstrom (1988-92).

Signing With ESPN
The University of Northern Colorado department of athletics is proud to announce it has partnered with ESPN AM 870 for women's basketball radio broadcasts in 2009-10. All regular season games will be available live both over the airwaves at 870 AM, as well as online via audio streaming at www.espn870.net. Northern Colorado alumnus Jason Alvine will be handling the play-by-play duties for the Bears' action.

Helping Hand
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer and senior guard Whitley Cox now both rank in the top 10 in career assists at Northern Colorado. Stoermer currently has 267 assists for fifth, while Cox is 10th with 240.

Coaches Show
The Jaime White Head Coaches Show will take place at The Rio Grande (825 9th Street) on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m. during January. Join Coach White and host Jason Alvine as they recap the previous week, preview the upcoming week and talk strategies with fans and players.

Going Streaking
Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 256 consecutive games, dating all the way back to Jan. 20, 2001 at South Dakota State.

Stellar In The Classroom
Six current Bears were named to the Big Sky All-Academic Team last season in Kaisha Brown, Lizzie Cooper, Courtney Kranz, Cassie Lambrecht, Lara Merritt and Courtney Stoermer.

Bears Add Four Freshmen
Three Colorado and one Minnesota high school standouts signed National Letters of Intent to play women's basketball at the University of Northern Colorado, announced Head Coach Jaime White. Molly Duehn, Kirsten Hess, Kim Lockridge and D'Shara Strange make up the signing class for the Bears and will enroll in classes in the fall of 2010.