Three Straight
For the first time since 1982-83, the Northern Colorado women’s basketball team will start the season with three straight home contests. That season, the Bears began 2-1 en route to a 12-14 overall record. 2010-11 will be only the second time the team has ever kicked off a season with three straight at home.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado quickly bounced back from an overtime loss on Friday night to defeat instate rival Air Force on Sunday afternoon. The Bears evened their record at 1-1 with the 79-56 victory. Sophomore forward Lauren Oosdyke led a contingent of five Bears in double figure points, scoring 15. She also led the team with seven rebounds. Senior guard Courtney Stoermer scored 14 and had a game-high four assists. Both junior forward Kaisha Brown and senior center Jayne Strand scored 12 and sophomore guard Victoria Timm chipped in 10. The Bears shot .518 from the field, doing a much better than Friday evening’s .295. The team was also red-hot from the free throw line, making 16-of-20.

NC vs Santa Clara
The Bears and Broncos have never met on the hardwood for women’s basketball before. Northern Colorado is 1-4 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference and will also face San Francisco later this season.

Scouting Santa Clara
The Broncos have played just one game this season, falling 54-74 to Fresno State last Friday. Megan Fulps (12), Kathy Willinsky (11) and Lena Gipson (10) all scored in double figures for Jennifer Mountain’s team. The Broncos shot .356 from the field, but connected on just 2-of-19 from the three-point line and were out-rebounded 41-31 in the loss. Gipson led the team with eight rebounds, while Lindsay Leo had the team’s two blocked shots. Mountain is in her third season as head coach at Santa Clara.

On This Date
Northern Colorado sports an 0-3 record in games played on November 17 and is 0-1 at home. The last game played on the 17th was an 83-56 loss at Oral Robers in 2007, while the last home game was a 72-59 loss to Air Force in 2006.

Quick Improvement
On Friday, the Bears shot just .295 from the field and .545 from the free throw line in the overtime loss to South Dakota. The team quickly improved both numbers, shooting .518 from the floor and .800 from the free throw line in the victory over Air Force. The .221 improvement in shooting from the field is the biggest in over a decade. The only other two game stretch where the Bears shot over 20 percent better from the field was in January, 2007 when the team shot just .306 at Montana and then hit at a .510 clip against Sacramento State.

Good Things Happen
When scoring at least 70 points under Coach Jaime White, Northern Colorado has a record of 29-6, including a 1-0 mark in 2010-11. A year ago, the Bears went 8-2 when putting at least 70 on the scoreboard.

Five For 10
In Northern Colorado’s 79-56 win over Air Force, five Bears tallied double-figure points. It is the first time since Feb. 13, 2009 against Black Hills State the team has accomplished that feat.

Picked Eighth
The Bears were picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky preseason polls voted on by both the coaches and media. Montana was picked to win the title by both groups, while Eastern Washington, Portland State and Montana State are in the top four, respectively.

Moving On Up
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer moved up one more spot on the career scoring charts at Northern Colorado to 10th. She now has 1,071 career points, passing Sandy Dorn (1993-97) who scored 1,065.

  1.   Missy Borell, 1999-03           1,866
  2.   Trish Williamson, 1987-91   1,590
  3.   Whitley Cox, 2005-10           1,553
  4.   Jenny Edgerly, 1985-89       1,462
  5.   Shelley Lindstrom, 1988-92 1,409
  6.   Diane Worner, 1980-84       1,353
  7.   Lou Piel, 1976-80                    1,260
  8.   Missy McVoy, 1994-98        1,141
  9.   Jill Reifschneider, 1993-97  1,121
10.  Courtney Stoermer, 2007- 1,071
11.  Sandy Dorn, 1993-97            1,065

Time Invested
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer broke the Northern Colorado all-time record for career minutes played in just the second game of her senior season. Stoermer has now played 3,313 minutes in 92 games with the Bears, breaking the previous record of 3,256 minutes by Shelley Lindstrom (1988-92). Stoermer averages 36.0 minutes per game through her career and has played 40 or more minutes in 30 games.

Triple For Triple
Junior forward Kaisha Brown needs just three more three-pointers in her career to become one of 13 players in school history to make 100 three-pointers. Senior guard Courtney Stoermer is also on the all-time charts, tied for fourth all-time with 137 three-pointers.

Rookies Impressive
Northern Colorado freshmen and transfers have combined for 26 points, 25 rebounds and 12 steals through the first two games of the season. The four freshmen and one junior college transfer are responsible for 19.1% of the team’s scoring, 34.2% of rebounding, 25.0% of assists and 54.5% of the steals through the first two games this season.

Best In The Big Sky
Northern Colorado has a +9.0 scoring margin through two games, tied for top marks in the Big Sky Conference statistics. The Bears are also first in steals (11.0) and turnover margin (+5.0). Individually, junior transfer Amy Marin and freshman D’shara Strange are tied for first with 3.0 steals per game and Marin’s four steals against South Dakota are tied for the best individual performance this year.

New Assistants
Northern Colorado added two new assistant coaches for the 2010-11 season in Thomas Perkins and Anna Bateman. Both have previous ties to head coach Jaime White. Perkins coached White while she played at Utah Valley, while Bateman played her freshman season under White at Snow.

Free For All
Forward Lauren Oosdyke and guard Courtney Stoermer became just the eighth and ninth players in Northern Colorado history to make 100 free throws in a season. Oosdyke sank 102 free throws, while Stoermer had 101, during 2009-10, coming within two and three of breaking the school’s Division I record of 104 by Heather Barbour (2006-07).

She’s Everywhere
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer already ranks in the top five in four different statistical career categories at Northern Colorado. Stoermer is now third in steals (172), fourth in assists (306) and free throws made (284) and tied for fourth in three-pointers with 137. Stoermer also ranks 10th in both scoring (1,071) and blocked shots (60).

Lucky Number Six
Twice during the 2009-10 season, forward Kaisha Brown tied the Division I school record for three-pointers in a game with six. Brown hit six at Cal State Northridge and  against Portland State. She now ranks 13th in school history with 97 three-pointers, needing 17 more to break into the school’s top 10.

Triple Threat
Guard Courtney Stoermer recorded the first triple double in Division I school history at Sacramento State on Jan. 21, 2010 with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Her triple double was also the only one in the Big Sky Conference during the 2009-10 season.

Stop Thief!
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer ended the 2009-10 season with 58 steals and is now third on the Northern Colorado all-time charts with 172. She needs just 17 steals to tie the school record of 189 steals held by Renee L’Heureux (1981-85).

Going Streaking
Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 269 consecutive games, dating all the way back to Jan. 20, 2001 at South Dakota State.

Signing Bonus
Northern Colorado’s head women’s basketball coach Jaime White announced three players, from three different states, have signed National Letters of Intent to come play basketball for Northern Colorado. Lindsay Mallon, Amber Van Deudekom, and Stephanie Lee all have committed to becoming Bears next fall.

Amber Van Deudekom, 5-11, F, Brea, Calif. (Brea Olinda High School)
Four year letter-winner for the Ladycats … Helped lead the Ladycats to a 31-3 overall record last season and finished ranked number three in California 2A rankings … She was named her team’s most improved player in both her sophomore and junior seasons … This year, she has been named a team-captain … In 2010, she averaged 8.3 points per game and 8 rebounds per game … She is a four-time scholar athlete as well as a member of the National Honor Society … Her Ladycats were named league champions last season as well as state champions during her sophomore campaign … She played club basketball for the Cal Swish.

“Amber is an extremely physical and aggressive player,” White said. “She is definitely able to play both the 4 and 5-spots with her physical skills. What’s great about Amber is that she’s played on one of the best high school teams in the nation, which brings a great winning mental approach to our club. We’re excited to see what she can bring to Northern Colorado.”

Stephanie Lee, 6-1, C, Casper, Wyo. (Natrona County High School)
Stephanie lettered all four years for the Mustangs … In just her sophomore year, she was already named to the all-conference team … During her junior year she was named to the all-state team as well as being named team captain … She was also the Girl’s Basketball MVP in her junior season … She average 14.7 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game as a junior … Helped lead the Mustangs conference championships in each of the first three years of her career … During her sophomore season, the team finished third in the state … She is a member of the National Honor Society as well as a yearly sight on the honor roll.

“Steph is very quick for a forward of her size,” White said. “We’re excited to see what kind of match-up problems she can create because she can run the floor well and can score from both inside and outside. We’re lucky to have her here on campus and can’t wait to get her onto the court.”

Lindsay Mallon, 6-0, G, Lone Tree, Colo. (Highlands Ranch High School)
Lettered three times in basketball and four time in soccer while playing for the Falcons of Highlands Ranch … She helped lead her team to two straight Continental League Championships during her sophomore and junior seasons … She was all-state honorable mention last season .. She has also been named to the second team all-league in soccer … She is a member of the National Honor Society and has been named to the honor roll every year of her high school career.

“Lindsay is extremely versatile,” White said. “She has good size, but she is skilled enough to play anything from the point to a small-forward. Another thing that makes her so unique is that she is a lefty. A lot of players aren’t used to guarding left-handed players, so she could be harder to defend against. She’s a player who loves to push the tempo and will be an excellent addition to the team.”