WBB Prepares For Final Non-Conference Tilt

COMPLETE NOTES: Black Hills State

Stepping Out
For the final time this season, Northern Colorado will face a non-conference opponent as they host Black Hills State on Friday at 7:05 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are currently ranked sixth in the nation among NAIA Division II teams and are 21-5 on the season. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

On This Date
Northern Colorado is 2-6 in games played on February 13. The Bears are 1-2 at home, 1-3 on the road and 0-1 on a neutral floor. The last home contest happened in 2003 against South Dakota State, a 71-59 win for the Jackrabbits.

The Series
This will be the first-ever contest between the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State and the Bears of Northern Colorado.

Scouting The Yellow Jackets
The sixth-ranked team in NAIA Division II, Black Hills State is 21-5 after Wednesday night victory over rival South Dakota School of Mines. Sophomore guard Katelynn Lamb leads the team with 13.54 points per game, while junior guard Brittany Fuhrman averages 12.19 a contest. Junior forward Alana Dykhouse leads with 5.27 rebounds, while four others average better than 2.5 per game. The Yellow Jackets are currently riding a six-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine games.

Last Time Out
For the first time this season, the Bears were swept in weekend action, dropping a 66-55 decision at Weber State and a 63-58 game at Idaho State. The Bears held a nine-point advantage in the first half of the game on Thursday against the Wildcats, but were held scoreless the final 5:20 of the game. The Bears never led on Saturday, but made things interesting after freshman forward Kaisha Brown hit back-to-back three-pointers and sophomore forward Kate Kevorken hit another with less than a minute remaining to pull within two, 60-58. Junior guard Whitley Cox averaged 16.0 points per game, while Kevorken averaged 14.0 points and nine rebounds a game and sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer averaged 12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Black Friday
The game against Black Hills State will take place on Black Friday, or Friday the 13th of the month. This will mark the ninth time the Bears have played on a Friday the 13th in school history with a 2-6 record. The Bears are 1-1 at home on this day of superstition, with a 0-4 mark on the road and 1-1 on a neutral floor. This will also be the third time the game happens in February, with the Bears 0-2 on Friday, February 13 contests.

Inching Closer
Junior guard Whitley Cox continues to climb on the career scoring charts and with 43 more points, she will become just the 14th player in school history with 1,000 career points. With her current average of 11.7 per game, Cox should hit the milestone on February 26 at Montana. The last player to notch 1,000 career points was Danielle Hagen last season, as she ended her career with 1,008.

Going For 250
A win over Black Hills State on Friday would mark the program's 250th win in Butler-Hancock. The Bears are 249-167 since the gym opened its doors on Feb. 4, 1975. This season, the Bears are 6-3 at home with a perfect 3-0 mark against non-conference opponents in the friendly confines.

The Three Amigos
Since the beginning of the calendar year, one of three different Bears have led the team in scoring over the 11 games. Both sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer and sophomore forward Kate Kevorken have led the team in scoring four times, while junior guard Whitley Cox has led the club three times in 2009. Over that stretch, Stoermer leads the team with 16.1 points, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game, while Kevorken has averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds and Cox is at 11.7 points per game.

The 100 Club
Both sophomore center Lara Merritt and junior guard Lizzie Cooper recorded their 100th career rebounds at Weber State. Merritt also scored her 100th career point at Idaho State and now has 109 rebounds and 103 points, while Cooper now has 105 rebounds. Closing in on the century mark is sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer. She now needs just seven steals for 100 in her career.

Continuing the Climb
Junior guard Whitley Cox now ranks fifth in career free throws with 235 made. She needs just two more to tie for fourth on the Northern Colorado career charts with 237, knotting Tracie Morris, 1988-90. The school record for free throws is 469 by Missy Borell, 1999-03. Cox' total is also the school record in the Division I era, surpassing Heather Barbour's record of 193 (2003-07).

Double, Double, Toil And Trouble
Northern Colorado had just one double-double recorded through the first 20 games of the season (senior forward Jamie Schroeder, 10 points and 10 rebounds at UMKC) and have had one in each of the last three games. Sophomore forward Kate Kevorken tallied back-to-back double-doubles with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Northern Arizona and then 20 points and 13 rebounds at Weber State, while sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds at Idaho State.

She's Good For 10
Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer has scored at least 10 points in the last 10 games, the third longest streak in the Big Sky Conference regardless of gender. Anthony Johnson of Montana leads the way with 12 straight games on the men's side, while Mandy Morales of Montana and Erica Perry of Montana State have both scored 10 or more in 11 consecutive.

Not Long Now
Sophomore forward Kate Kevorken made her 114th career three-pointer in the waning moments against Idaho State, which ties her for sixth all-time at Northern Colorado. She has 44 triples this season, needing just seven more to tie for 10th on the school's single-season list, knotting Jessica Johnson from 2001-02 with 51. Her 114 in not quite two seasons ties Amber Elliott (2000-03) and Kara Ketterer (1996-00) and with one more she will tie Jenny Gallagher (1994-97) for fifth with 115. The school record is 173 by Missy McVoy from 1994-98.

Home Cooking
The Bears, being as young as they are, find certain comfort in playing in front of a home crowd. Northern Colorado is averaging 70.9 points and holding opponents to 60.3 per game at home, while scoring just 59.6 points and allowing 70.1 on the road. The difference is 10.3 more points scored and 9.8 fewer points allowed while in Butler-Hancock. Sophomore Courtney Stoermer truly likes playing at home. She is averaging 15.2 points per game, while shooting .484 from the field and .516 from the three-point line at B-H, but scoring just 11.6 while shooting .349 from the floor and .333 from beyond the arc in games away from Butler-Hancock.

First To 100
With five active players averaging 3.5 rebounds per game or better, it was a race to see which would be the first to garner 100 on the season, and sophomore Kate Kevorken did so against Northern Arizona and is now averaging a team-best 5.1 per game with a total of 118. Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer is second on the team with 92 total rebounds, while junior guard Whitley Cox has 90.

Stoermer Steals The Show
Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer tallied nine steals against Northern Arizona. It is the NC Division I era school record, breaking her own record of six from earlier this year at Eastern Washington and Amber Elliott from 2003. Her total is also the second-highest ever in Northern Colorado and Big Sky Conference history. It is also the second-highest total in NCAA Division I this season as four players have recorded 10 in a game in 2008-09. Stoermer's season total is now 50, which is just two shy of adding her name to the school's single-season chart (10th, Edie Byerly, 1986-87, 52).

Welcome Back
After missing seven games (technically she played 40 seconds against Portland State and missed three games twice), senior forward Jamie Schroeder returned to the lineup against Northern Arizona. In 21 minutes of action, she scored three points, had two rebounds, two assists and two steals, including one with under a minute remaining to help seal the victory. She played six minutes at Weber State with one steal and one blocked shot, but was pushed to the ground and did not play at Idaho State on Saturday afternoon.

Pink Zone Is Coming
The game against Portland State on Feb. 19, will mark the team's annual Pink Zone game. The initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) to assist in raising breast cancer awareness. The money raised at the game will directly benefit the Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehab Institute on the Northern Colorado campus. Please join the Bears in supporting the cause by wearing pink to the game. All individuals who wear pink will receive admission for $4.

It's Been A While
The game against Montana State marked the first time in Head Coach Jaime White's career at Northern Colorado the Bears played an overtime game. The last overtime contest for NC was exactly three years ago, Jan. 22, 2006 when the Bears fell 72-71 at Lamar. The last overtime win for the Bears prior to Thursday evening was Feb. 3, 2004 at Texas Pan-American and the last home overtime game was an 84-80 win against Saint Cloud State on Jan. 2, 2003.

First To 30
Junior guard Whitley Cox became just the fourth player at Northern Colorado in the Division I era to notch 30 or more points in a game. Her tally took her over the 900 point barrier for her career, and she now has 957. It was also the 15th time in her career she has scored 20 or more points in a game. The most points scored in a game came in the finale last season as Danielle Hagen scored 37 against Portland State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

Milestones
Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer scored her 600th career point at Idaho State and has 600. She also tallied her 200th rebound at Weber State and now has 211 and is just 13 assists shy of recording her 200th. The sophomore also needs seven steals for 100. Freshman Kaisha Brown needs 14 points for 150, while sophomore Kate Kevorken needs two free throws to make 100 for her career.

Triple Threat
The trio of Kate Kevorken (44), Courtney Stoermer (33) and Kaisha Brown (33) are dangerous from the outside. The three players have combined to make 110 three-pointers on the year, just four less than the Bears' opposition. Three other players, Lizzie Cooper, Cassie Lambrecht and Jamie Schroeder have all sunk 15 or more triples this season, aiding the Bears in making 162 for a league-leading 7.0 per game. The Northern Colorado single season record for three-pointers made is 265. The trio are averaging 4.78 three-pointers per game, which would rank them among the top half of all Division I teams.

That's A C For All You Romans
The win against Weber State marked the program's 500th all-time victory, and the record since 1974 is now 503-496. The Bears defeated the Wildcats 66-53 to hit the milestone in the 35th season of women's basketball.

Joining The Elite
Northern Colorado recently announced its Hall of Fame class for 2009 and former women's basketball standout Trish Williamson will be inducted with 11 other members and two teams in late February. Williamson is the only First-Team All-American in school history. She still holds the school's rebounds record with 951, as well as ranks second in scoring (1,590 points) and field goals made (663) and third in both free throws made (258) and steals (161). She becomes the eighth women's basketball player and just the third student-athlete to play only women's basketball (the other five were multi-sport athletes) for the Bears.

What An Honor
Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer became the first Bear this season to be named the Big Sky player of the week, earning the award after scoring a career-best 24 points against Johnson & Wales. Stoermer hit 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and established a new Division I program record, shooting .900 (9-of-10) from the field. She also tallied two steals, three assists, two blocked shots and two rebounds in just 23 minutes of play. This is the first career award for Stoermer.

All-Tournament Team
Sophomore guard Courtney Stoermer was named to the odwalla Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting .563 (9-16) from the floor and .818 (9-11) from the free throw line.

Among The Best
Through games played Feb. 8, Northern Colorado ranks 22nd in three-pointers made per game (7.0), 54th in three-point field goal percentage (.346) and 69th in turnovers per game (16.4).

Youth Is Served
Northern Colorado has the youngest team in the Big Sky Conference this season as 11 of the 16 on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores. Portland State also has 68.8 percent of its roster as either freshmen or sophomores, but the Bears have six freshmen, compared to four for the Vikings. The Bears also have just one senior on the roster in forward Jamie Schroeder.

Century Mark
Northern Colorado topped the century mark in scoring for just the 15th time in school history and the first time since 2002-03 when they scored 101 against San Jose State. The last time the Bears scored over 100 was 103 against NYIT on Dec. 6, 2003. The school record for points in a game is 115 against Norwich on Jan. 5, 1998.

The Long Ball
Northern Colorado shot .579 from beyond the arc against Air Force, establishing a new school record for three-point field goal percentage (in the Division I era). The Bears made 11-of-19, breaking the old record of .531 (17-32) at Hastings College on Feb. 5, 2004 (minimum 10 makes). Six different Bears made at least one triple.

Going Streaking
Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 230 consecutive games, dating all the way back to Jan. 20, 2001 at South Dakota State.

Putting It In Writing
Head Coach Jaime White signed Jayne Strand to a National Letter of Intent recently. As a freshman at Kirkwood Community College, Strand averaged five points and 4.2 rebounds per game in helping the team to the Junior College National Championship. She was a three-sport athlete for the Cyclones of Ames HS, earning four letters in cross country and three each in soccer and basketball. She was a three-time all-conference selection in cross country and an honorable mention all-conference pick in basketball as a senior. She was also a multiple time honor roll selection and a two-time academic all-conference pick.