Stoermer Records First Triple-Double In Division I History

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Despite getting the first triple-double since the University of Northern Colorado went Division I, the Bears' women's basketball team couldn't pick up its first-ever win in Sacramento on Thursday night, falling 72-60 at the Hornets Nest.

With the loss, the Bears move to 9-10 on the season and 2-4 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Hornets improve to 5-12 overall and 1-4 in league action.

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, marking the first time since Nov. 22, 2003, at Colorado State-Pueblo that the Bears had three players with double figures in points and rebounds. Strand scored 12 and had 11 rebounds, nine on the offensive end of the floor, and Oosdyke had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

"I thought Courtney Stoermer did a good job," said Head Coach Jaime White. "It was a great game for her and I thought she did a great job of distributing the ball. I really liked Jayne's effort tonight. We had some good looks at the basket. We're going to continue to work on our free throws. They (Sacramento State) hit a couple of three-pointers late that pushed the game out."

Stoermer not only had a good game on the stat sheet but also defensively, as she snapped the longest active double-figure scoring streak in the league, defending the Big Sky Conference's leading scorer Charday Hunt and holding her to seven points. Hunt entered the game scoring 10 or more points in 21 straight contests. NC senior guard Whitley Cox now owns the league's longest active double-figure scoring streak at 17 games after leading all players with 15 in the game.

The Bears had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the sixth time this season with 19 assists and 16 turnovers. The team shot just .310 from the field and just .179 (5-28) from beyond the arc as well as just .550 (11-20) from the free throw line.

Emily Christensen and Tika Koshiyama-Diaz each scored 14 to lead the Hornets, while Erika Edwards came off the bench to score 10. Kylie Kuhns led the game with 12 rebounds. Sacramento State shot .348 from the floor, .350 (7-20) from the three-point line and .630 (17-27) from the free throw line, including 6-for-8 in the final minute to seal the victory.

In a fast-paced first half, the two teams traded baskets with nine lead changes and three ties. The Bears had several shots rim out however, going scoreless for 6:05 until Oosdyke hit a layup with two seconds remaining. Cox led the Bears with seven points, while Stoermer had six assists and six rebounds.

Neither team shot well from the field with the Bears hitting just .286 (10-35) and the Hornets just .294 (10-34).

Stoermer started the second half the same way as the first, draining a three-pointers as the Bears scored seven of the first nine points for a 31-28 advantage. The two teams again went back-and-forth throughout the second stanza with four more lead changes and four ties in the final 20 minutes. Oosdyke scored seven straight points for the Bears from the 13:41 (39-38) until Strand hit a pair of free throws at 8:32 to close the Bears within two, 49-47.

The Bears continue the five game road trip, playing at Montana on Friday and Montana State on Saturday. Both games are slated for 7 o'clock starts.