February 1, 2011

WBB Preview: at Eastern Washington, Portland State

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Northern Colorado Notes | Eastern Washington Notes | Portland State Notes | Big Sky Conference Notes

Pacific Northwest
The Northern Colorado team takes its six-game winning streak on the road as it travels to Eastern Washington for a Thursday night match-up and Portland State for a Saturday afternoon contest. The Bears defeated both teams earlier this year to start the current winning streak.

Last Time Out
GREELEY, Colo. – First place. That's where Northern Colorado sits after a 67-49 victory over Weber State on Saturday afternoon. The Bears won their 10th straight game at home and their sixth game overall. Freshman guard D'shara Strange had arguably her best game in the blue & gold, scoring a career-best 19 points, led the team with seven rebounds and tallied no turnovers in 34 minutes of play. Senior guard Courtney Stoermer was also in double figures in points with 10 points. She also had four assists and three steals and did not commit a turnover as the team had a season-low 13 in the win. Senior forward Jayne Strand also had one of her best games for Northern Colorado as she had eight points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting and had a team-best five steals, more than doubling her previous career-high of two. Junior forward Kaisha Brown led the team with five assists to lead all players and she hit one three-pointer, moving her into sole possession of sixth-place in NC history with 130.

NC vs Eastern Washington
The Bears are now 6-3 all-time against the Eagles after winning 75-68 earlier this season. The series is tied at 2-2 in Cheney and the Bears lost a 63-52 decision at Reese Court a season ago. All nine games between the two teams have come in Big Sky Conference action and the Bears six wins have come by an average of 14 points, while the Eagles three victories have been by an average of 10.3 points.

NC vs Portland State
The Bears defeated the Vikings 72-60 back on Jan. 13 to start the current six-game winning streak and are now 5-6 all-time against Portland State. The team's first-ever win in Portland came last year, a 56-54 victory as Whitley Cox hit a jumper with one second remaining for the win.

Scouting Eastern Washington
Probable Starters:F-21 Carrie Ojeda (3.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), F-42 Julie Piper (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg), G-05 Chene Cooper (11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg), G-15 Brianne Ryan (14.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G-23 Jordan Schoening (1.6 ppg, 0.5 rpg)
• The Eagles are one of four teams in the Big Sky with a 4-3 league record and they are 8-11 overall. At home this season, they are 6-2 with a 2-9 road/neutral mark and have won five straight at Reese Court.
• Four Eagles average double figures in points, led by Brianne Ryan (14.5), Tatjana Sparavalo (12.5), Julie Piper (11.3) and Chene Cooper (11.2).
• Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky in offensive rebounds (16.5) per game. Individually, Chene Cooper leads the conference in assists (5.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9). In conference only games, the Eagles lead in free throw percentage (.772) and offensive rebounds (16.1), while Brianne Ryan leads in scoring (20.3) and Cooper leads in assists (6.6) and steals (2.4).
• When the two teams met on Jan. 15, the Bears won 75-68 and the only EWU lead came early in the first half. Courtney Stoermer led four Bears in double figures with 17 points and she had seven assists, while Kaisha Brown had her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tatjana Sparavalo led EWU with 24 points, while Julie Piper had a team-best seven boards and Chene Cooper added five assists and four steals.

Scouting Portland State
Probable Starters:F-22 Kelli Valentine (10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg), F-34 Allie Brock (4.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), G-21 Eryn Jones (13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), G-23 Courtney VanBrocklin (14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G-33 Lexi Bishop (5.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg).
• The Vikings are 11-9 overall with a 4-3 Big Sky Conference record. PSU is 7-1 at home this year, with a 4-8 road/neutral mark. Portland State has won its last three games and last four at home.
• Three Vikings average double figures in scoring, led by Courtney VanBrocklin (14.1), Eryn Jones (13.9) and Kelli Valentine (10.2).
• Portland State leads the Big Sky in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.304). Courtney VanBrocklin leads the league in free throw percentage (.846).
• In the first meeting this year on Jan. 13, the Bears won 72-60. Lauren Oosdyke scored a career-high 28, while D'shara Strange added 15 and Kaisha Brown had 10 rebounds. Kelli Valentine led PSU with 22 points, while Courtney VanBrocklin had 13 points and nine boards. There were six ties and three lead changes and the Bears out-scored the Vikings 44-26 in the paint.

On This Date
• In games played on February 3, the Bears are just 4-7 all-time, but have won the last two games, including a thrilling 74-72 win last year at Denver. On the road, the team is 2-3 on the 3rd and they have won their last two.
• In games on the 5th Northern Colorado is 5-5 with a 2-4 mark on the road. The Bears are 0-1 in Big Sky games losing at Weber State in 2009.

Playing With A Lead
During the six-game winning streak, Northern Colorado has trailed for just 13:51 of the 240 minutes of play. The Bears have led wire to wire only once, last Thursday against Northern Arizona. On the flip side, the team has trailed only once in the second half, at Weber State. The most the Bears have trailed in a game during the six wins is 5:52 against Eastern Washington.

Getting The "W"
Northern Colorado has now won six straight contests, tying for the seventh-longest streak in school history. The school record for consecutive wins is 11 by the 1997-98 team, while twice a team has won 10. The 1975-76 and 76-77 teams combined for eight straight wins and both the 1995 and 2000 teams won seven in a row. This is the fourth six-game winning streak in school history.

1.	11	Dec. 3, 1997-Jan. 17, 1998
2.	10	Nov. 22, 1996-Jan. 4, 1997
		Nov. 19, 1994-Dec. 31, 1994
4.	8	Feb. 5, 1976-Nov. 19, 1976
5.	7	Jan. 22, 2000-Feb. 18, 2000
		Nov. 21, 1995-Dec. 16, 1995
7.	6	Current
		Dec. 4, 1999-Jan. 2, 2000
		Jan. 16, 1999-Feb. 6, 1999
		Feb. 3, 1984-Feb. 21, 1984

 

Best In The Big Sky
Northern Colorado currently leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (60.4), scoring margin (+5.8), field goal percentage defense (.364), rebounding margin (+4.3) and blocked shots (3.9). In league games only, the Bears lead in field goal percentage (.478), three-point field goal percentage (.387), rebounding defense (30.8) and rebounding margin (+8.1).

Brit Blocks
Senior center Brittany Fernandez now leads the Big Sky Conference in league games with 1.5 blocked shots per game. She currently has 24 blocks this year, just two shy of the school's Division I record of 26 held by Courtney Stoermer from 2009-10.

Two Wins This Weekend Would:
• give the team nine Big Sky wins for the first time (high is eight victories in 2007-08).
• guarantee a winning record in Big Sky play for the first time.
• tie for the fourth longest winning streak in school history at eight games.
• give the Bears the season sweep over Portland State for the second-straight year and be the third season sweep over Eastern Washington (2008, 2009).
• ensure the Bears do not finish ninth in the Big Sky standings.

Strand And Steals
Senior forward Jayne Strand became the sixth different Bear this year to record four or more steals in a game when she shattered her career-high with five against Weber State. Strand's previous career best total was two steals on two different occasions. Strand joins D'shara Strange (6), Amy Marin (4), Victoria Timm (7), Courtney Stoermer (4), Lauren Oosdyke (5) and Kim Lockridge (4) with at least one game of four or more thefts (season-high is in parentheses).

Crashing The Boards
After being out-rebounded in six of the first 10 games of the season, the Bears have turned the tide and have out-rebounded 10 of the last 11 opponents and have been bettered on the boards just once in conference play (at Weber State). The Bears lead the league in rebound margin at +4.3 in all games and +8.1 in conference games.

Tough Defense
Defensively, Northern Colorado has held 12 opponents to 60 or fewer points this season, including the last four, and is 11-1 in those games (Denver). The Bears now lead the Big Sky in scoring defense, allowing just 60.4 points per game. Last season's team held opponents to 60 or less 10 times, going 8-2 in those games.

It's A Positive
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer is second in the Big Sky statistics in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.7. Her ratio also is 52nd in Division I basketball. Stoermer currently has the longest active streak in the Big Sky with 10 games of four or more assists. She has 87 assists and 50 turnovers this year and her assist total is almost double anyone else on the team.

Starting On Right Foot
Northern Colorado is 7-1 in Big Sky Conference play for the first time since joining the league in the 2006-07 season. It is also just the third time in any league the Bears have started 7-1 or better (1987-88, 1997-98). Northern Colorado has never been 8-1 in conference play.

The Sky's The Limit
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer is currently the active leader in the Big Sky Conference in career free throws made (322), steals (196), assists (386) and is second in scoring (1,240) and three-pointers made (166). She is now just three free throws, six three-pointers, seven steals and 28 assists shy of appearing on the all-time top 20 list in the respective categories.

Downtown Kaisha Brown
With four three-pointers in the two games over the weekend, junior forward Kaisha Brown is now sixth on the school's all-time chart with 130. She passed both Kate Kevorken (2007-09) and Jena Fosdick (2003-06) during the two games and needs eight triples to move into 5th and 10 to move into 4th all-time at Northern Colorado.

What An Honor
Lauren Oosdyke averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting .545 from the field (12-22) and .850 from the free-throw line (17-20) in the wins over Portland State and Eastern Washington en route to being named the Big Sky Player of the Week.

Streaking Through Butler
The Bears have now won 10 straight games at Butler-Hancock, the third-longest winning streak in school history.

1.	16	Feb. 15, 1997 - Feb. 21,1998
2.	11	Dec. 4, 1985 - Nov. 29, 1986
3.	10	Nov. 14, 2010 - current
4.	9	Feb. 16, 2001 - Jan. 18, 2002
	9	March 1, 1996 - Jan. 24, 1997

 

Theft Ring Exposed
Northern Colorado currently has three players on the team with more than 40 steals on the year as Victoria Timm has 47, D'shara Strange 45 and Lauren Oosdyke 43. It is the first time since the 2002-03 season the Bears have three players with 40 or more steals in a season. That team finished with a 12-16 overall record and Jill Fadenrecht (49), Kristi Held (45) and Missy Borell (43) led in steals.

Sounding Like A Broken Record
Senior guard Courtney Stoermer broke the career steals record at Northern Colorado and now has 196, passing the old record of 189 by Renee L'Heureux (1981-85). Stoermer also holds the career record for minutes played (3962). She is also second in three-pointers (166), assists (386), games started (110), third in free throws made (322) and eighth in scoring (1,240) and blocked shots (69).

Countdown Is On
Earlier this season, head coach Jaime White won her 50th game at Northern Colorado, doing so with a 57-53 overtime victory against Colgate. With two more wins, White will move into fourth on the all-time wins list.

1.	82	Janet Schafer (1985-92)
2.	75	Gary Schwartz (1992-97)
3.	67	Ron Vlasin (2001-06)
4.	58	Greg Bruce (1997-00)
5.	57	Jaime White (2006-present)

 

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.

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 3,962 minutes in 111 games, breaking the previous record of 3,256 minutes by Shelley Lindstrom (1988-92). Stoermer averages 35.7 minutes per game through her career and has played 40 or more minutes in 32 games.

Milestone Watch
Kaisha Brown needs 17 points for 600, five rebounds for 250 and eight assists for 100 in her career. Brittany Fernandez is four blocks from 50, while Lara Merritt needs 12 points for 300. Lauren Oosdyke is also just 14 points from 600 and Courtney Stoermer needs four steals for 200.

Good Things Happen
When scoring at least 70 points under Coach Jaime White, Northern Colorado has a record of 35-8, including a 7-2 mark in 2010-11. A year ago, the Bears went 8-2 when putting at least 70 on the scoreboard.

Going Streaking
Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 289 consecutive games, dating all the way back to Jan. 20, 2001 at South Dakota State.