Women's Basketball Open Home Season Against Cal State-Fullerton On Sunday

Nov. 19, 2005

Northern Colorado vs. Cal State-Fullerton Game Notes in PDF Format
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University of Northern Colorado Bears (0-1) vs.
Cal State Fullerton Titans (0-1)
Sunday, Nov. 20 * 1 p.m. MT * Greeley, Colo. * Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (4,500)

GAME INFORMATION: The Bears open their home season against the Cal-State Fullerton Titans from the Big West Conference. It will be the first game for the Bears against a team from the Big West since being Division I.

The Titans are coming off a 100-71 loss to Colorado on Friday. CSF shot 35 percent for the game and allowed two 34 point scorers. The Titans were also out-rebounded 56-38.

SERIES OUTLOOK: This is the first meeting between both schools.

THE COACHES: Northern Colorado head coach Ron Vlasin is 54-56 in four seasons. At the high school level, Vlasin won nine state championships in Colorado. Cal State-Fullerton head coach Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah is 129-133 in nine seasons.

RADIO: The game will be broadcast live on the Bears Radio Network (flagship station - Newstalk 1310-AM KFKA in Greeley). Chris Ott will handle the play-by-play duties. The broadcast can be accessed for free on UNCBears.com.

INTERNET: Log on to UNCBears.com for Gametracker, which comes complete with play-by-play and live statistics.

TICKETS: Call 351-4TIX for tickets to the game. Ask about season ticket packages for season-long Bears action.

THE BEAR FACTS The Bears are coming off a 67-60 loss at Air Force on Friday. Although Northern Colorado was out-rebounded 43-24, the Bears put themselves in position to win.

Northern Colorado went into halftime down 34-25, but the Bears stormed back to a 55-53 lead with 5:41 left in the game. The Falcons fought back with a 10-3 run to close out the game. Northern Colorado had trouble guarding Air Force's inside shooting. The Falcons also capitilized on their trips to the free-throw line, going 25-32, compared to 10-18 for Northern Colorado.

Freshman guard Jabrenta Hubbard showed why she is a top newcomer as she scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting (3-of-4 from 3-point range). Junior forward Heather Barbour tallied 11 points in her first official game action since being sideline last season with a leg injury.

GAME NOTES

OPENING AT HOME
The Bears are 19-12 in home openers since 1974-75. The last home opening loss for the Bears was on against Hastings College on Dec. 1, 2003. Northern Colorado owns a 223-144 record at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.

AGAINST CALIFORNIA
Northern Colorado is 4-10 all-time against teams from California. The Bears lost 68-65 to San Diego State last season. Northern Colorado's last victory over a team from California was Dec. 15, 1993, against Cal Poly Pomona (69-56).

DANDY DEBUT
Freshman Jabrenta Hubbard scored 17 points in her collegiate debut against Air Force on Nov. 18. The guard from Las Vegas was 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Hubbard was ranked the 38th-best high school player in the nation by NCAAFullCourt.com in 2004 and was a top-ranked player in the West region by Street & Smith's that same year.

THE COMEBACK KID
Junior Heather Barbour scored 11 points against Air Force. Barbour had been hampered by leg injuries the past two years. Before the game against the Falcons, she hadn't played in regular season action since Jan. 8, 2005, against Utah.

RULE CHANGE
Fans may notice a difference with the kicking rule this year. Before, the shot would reset to 30 seconds when the ball was kicked. The NCAA changed the rule to say the shot clock will reset to 15 seconds when there are less than 15 seconds left on the shot clock when the ball is kicked. When there are more than 15 seconds remaining on the shot clock, the time will stay the same.

SEASON NOTES

BEARS SIGN TWO TO LETTERS OF INTENT
Head coach Ron Vlasin announced the early period signings of Tina Fox (North Platte, Neb./North Platte HS) and Kaley Hoover (Emory, Texas/Rains HS) on Nov. 17. Fox and Hoover will join Northern Colorado next season.

Fox, a 6'3 center, averaged nine points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots per game during her junior season as she led her team to an 18-5 record. Fox will also compete in track & field at Northern Colorado.

Hoover, a 6'2 forward, averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior. She has earned nine varsity letters in basketball, volleyball and track & field. Hoover was ranked 24th in the preseason by TexasHoops.com.

NO BACKING DOWN HERE
Although Northern Colorado is still in its infant stages of being a Division I program, it is not shying away from tough competition. The Bears are taking on seven teams that participated in the NCAA or WNIT tournament last season. Those teams include Louisville (NCAA), Maryland (NCAA), Illinois (WNIT), Marquette (WNIT), Gonzaga (WNIT), and twice against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (WNIT). The Bears took Maryland to the wire last season, leading 75-72 with 4:20 to play before falling 87-79.

TRIFECTARIFIC
The Bears' 8.6 3-pointers per game last season would have tied for fourth-best in the nation, but because of the reclassification, they are not part of official Division I statistical categories until the transition is over.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
Northern Colorado is 161-91 (.757) all-time against teams from Colorado.

HOT STREAK
The Bears went 9-3 in their last 12 games last season after starting out 3-13. At the end of that stretch, Northern Colorado went 2-1 at the Division I Indepedent tournament in Orem, Utah, and finished as the runner up.

AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST
The Bears are 32-63 since 1974-75 against teams from the Mountain West. Northern Colorado went 0-6 against MWC teams last season.

BEARS WIN EXHIBITION
The Bears took down Colorado Mines 63-56 in an exhibition on Nov. 8. Although Northern Colorado shot just 24 percent in the first half, it rebounded in the second half to shoot 41 percent. The Bears played stellar defense, forcing 28 turnovers.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Newcomer Jabrenta Hubbard scored 12 points, dished out a game-high eight assists and grabbed five steals in her first game action in a Northern Colorado uniform. Hubbard averaged 20.3 points and 3.5 assists per game as a high school senior in Las Vegas.

NORTHERN COLORADO COACHES SHOW NOW ON WEDNESDAY
Fans can now join Ron Vlasin and other Northern Colorado coaches at noon on Wednesdays at Old Chicago (2349 W. 29th St., next to Red Lobster). The show is open to the public and lunch is only $7, which includes a salad and drink. Troy Coverdale serves as the host, and the show airs at 7 p.m. that night on 1310-AM KFKA.