Women's Basketball Starts Final Three At Home With Hornets

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Complete Game Notes | NC Season Stats | Sacramento State Game Notes | Big Sky Conference Weekly Notes

Finishing At Home
Northern Colorado is home for the final three regular season games of the year, beginning with Sacramento State on Saturday. The Bears then host Montana State and Montana next weekend to conclude the regular season.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado split a weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest, falling 63-52 at league-leading Eastern Washington before winning a thriller at Portland State, 56-54. Senior guard Whitley Cox hit her second game winner of the year with a baseline jumper with 1.1 ticks on the clock for the win and a sweep over the Vikings.

First Meeting - Sacramento State
Despite getting the first triple-double since Northern Colorado went Division I, the Bears' couldn't pick up its first-ever win in Sacramento, falling 72-60 at the Hornets Nest. 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, marking the first time since Nov. 22, 2003, at Colorado State-Pueblo the Bears had three players with double figures in points and rebounds. Strand scored 12 and had 11 rebounds, and Oosdyke had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Christensen and Tika Koshiyama-Diaz each scored 14 to lead the Hornets, while Kylie Kuhns led the game with 12 rebounds.

NC vs Sacramento State
Northern Colorado is 2-5 all-time against Sacramento State, but 2-1 at home. The Bears are looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Hornets.

Scouting Sacramento State
Quite possibly the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State has won eight of its last nine games and currently sits in fourth place in the league standings with a 7-5 mark and they are 12-13 overall. The Hornets play at Northern Arizona on Thursday before facing the Bears on Saturday. Senior Charday Hunt leads the team and the Big Sky averaging 18.8 points per game, while the Hornets lead the league in both assists (17.7), steals (11.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9), offensive rebounds (16.6), defensive rebounds (28.7) and three-pointers per game (8.5).

On This Date
The Bears have only played four games on Feb. 27 in school history, with a 2-2 record overall and an 0-1 mark at home. The last game on the 27th happened back in 2001, an 83-61 loss at Augustana in the NCC Tournament.

Stoermer Scores 1,000
With a three-pointer at the 5:50 mark of the first half at Portland State, junior guard Courtney Stoermer became the 15th player in Northern Colorado history and just the fifth junior to score 1,000 career points. Stoermer is now tied for 14th all-time with 1,008 points, knotting former teammate Danielle Hagen (2003-08). Her 1,008 points also put her fifth on the Big Sky active scoring list and the only junior.

Single Season Records
Senior guard Whitley Cox now appears in the Northern Colorado single season top 10 in both scoring and field goals made. Cox ranks 10th in scoring with 474 points and 10th in field goals made with 184. Both are Division I records for NC. With just 26 more points, she will become one of just five players in school history to score 500 or more points in a single season as Missy Borell is the only player to do so twice.

Getting To The Line
Freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke is three free throws shy of becoming just the eighth player in Northern Colorado history to make 100 free throws in a season. Oosdyke has 97 free throws this year, needing just eight to break the school's Division I record of 104 by Heather Barbour (2006-07). She is fourth in the conference this season, trailing only Charday Hunt, Sacramento State (153), Sarah Ena, Montana (101) and Tonya Schnibbe, Weber State (100) in makes.

Last Five
In the last five games, junior center Jayne Strand has been extremely accurate from the field, shooting .667 (8-for-12). She is averaging 17 minutes per game over the last five with 3.8 points and 5.0 rebounds a game in relief of starters Lara Merritt and Lauren Oosdyke.

Lucky Number 13
The win at Portland State on Saturday marked the 13th of the season for Northern Colorado, surpassing the win total from last year's 12-18 team. One more victory will tie the 2007-08 team for most wins in Jaime White's career as a Bear.

Bring Out The Brooms
The win at Portland State also gave the Bears their second season sweep over a Big Sky opponent as the team also won both games against Northern Arizona. It was the first time in Big Sky history the Bears swept the Vikings and the second time they won both against the Lumberjacks.

1000-500-250
With her next assist, senior guard Whitley Cox will become just the second player in school history to have recorded 1000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists in her career. Danielle Hagen (2003-08) was the first player to hit all three milestones, ending her career with 1,008 points, 792 rebounds and 265 assists. Cox currently has 1,522 points, 509 rebounds and 249 assists. Junior guard Courtney Stoermer is also on pace to hit all three as she currently has 1,008 points, 351 rebounds and 291 assists.

Home Sweet Home
Redshirt freshman Victoria Timm would much rather play at Butler-Hancock than on the road. This season, the guard is averaging 6.0 points per game in home contests and just 3.3 in road games, for a difference of 2.7 points per game. Six players on the team are scoring more at home than on the road in Whitley Cox (+4.0), Jayne Strand (+1.7), Kaisha Brown (+1.4), Lizzie Cooper (+1.2) and Brittany Fernandez (+1.2).

Top 35
Senior guard Whitley Cox and Northern Arizona freshman guard Amy Patton are now both tied for 35th in the nation in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game. Sacramento State senior Charday Hunt leads the league and ranks 22nd in Division I with 18.8 points per game.

Double Trouble
With her 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Weber State, Lauren Oosdyke tallied her team-leading fourth double-double of the season. She is now tied for fifth for the most double-doubles this year in the Big Sky Conference.

She's Everywhere
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer already ranks in the top five in four different statistical categories at Northern Colorado. Stoermer is now tied for third in steals (161), ranks fourth in career assists and free throws made (266) and fifth in three-pointers with 128. The standout is also just outside the top 10 in blocked shots, needing just two more to appear in that category and 57 points shy of showing on that list as well.

Crashing The Boards
Northern Colorado has done a great job this season of getting to the glass and has now out-rebounded its last five opponents. Against Portland State, it was the 12th time this year the Bears had 40 or more rebounds in a game and the team is 9-3 in that instance.

Chart Hoppers
Both junior guard Courtney Stoermer and sophomore forward Kaisha Brown already rank on the single-season charts for three-pointers made with 47. The duo are tied for 15th on the list and with three more could become the 10th and 11th players in school history to make 50 or more triples in a single season. Both players have already surpassed their totals from a year ago as Stoermer made 43 and Brown 41 in 30 games during 2008-09.

It's All In The Numbers
The scoreboard really does tell all in a game. When the Bears put more than 70 up they are 7-0 this season. On the flip side, when they score 60 or fewer, they are 1-11.

Triple Threat
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer recorded the first triple double in Division I school history 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. Her triple double is also the only one in the Big sky this season and one of 24 in NCAA Division I play.

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.

Free Throw Facts
In the final five minutes of a game, with the margin on the scoreboard 10 or less, the Bears are shooting .706 (72-for-102) on the season but are at .740 (57-for-77) 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.

Stop Thief!
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer leads the team with 50 steals on the season and is now tied for third all-time with 161. She is also just 27 shy of the school record of 189 steals held by Renee L'Heureux (1981-85).

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 the remainder of the year. Join Coach White and host Jason Alvine as they recap the previous week, preview the upcoming week and talk strategies with fans and players.

Helping Hand
Junior guard Courtney Stoermer and senior guard Whitley Cox now both rank in the top 10 in career assists at Northern Colorado.

Going Streaking
Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 264 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.