Women's Basketball Faces Off Against Illinois On Wednesday

Nov. 21, 2005

Northern Colorado vs. Illinois Game Notes in PDF Format
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University of Northern Colorado Bears (1-1)
vs. University of Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 * 7 p.m. MT * Greeley, Colo.
Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (4,500)

GAME INFORMATION: The Bears will try to keep their momentum going as they host the Illinois Fighting Illini in what could be the most high profile opponent to ever come to Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. All tickets will cost just $4.

The Illini are coming off a 79-39 win over Loyola-Chicago on Friday. Illinois forced 36 turnovers and held the Ramblers to 33 percent shooting. Illini freshman Lori Bjork scored 13 points.

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

THE COACHES: Northern Colorado head coach Ron Vlasin is 55-57 in four seasons. At the high school level, Vlasin won nine state championships in Colorado. Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz is 176-129 in 10 years at Illinois and 637-284 as a college head coach in 31 years.

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 big 88-64 win over Cal State-Fullerton on Sunday. It was Northern Colorado's largest win over a Division I opponent in 29 years.

Northern Colorado only trailed once in the game and out-rebounded the Titans 47-28. The Bears shot 51 percent from the field, their best showing since Dec. 6, 2003, in a 103-61 win over New York Tech.

Cal State-Fullerton tried to make it a game late in the second half as they cut Northern Colorado's lead to 67-57 with 6:10 left to play, but the Bears clawed back by going on a 21-7 run to close out the game.

Junior guard Jena Fosdick scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. Junior forward Heather Barbour chipped in with 21 points.

Freshman Jabrenta Hubbard continued her exceptional play with 18 points, five assists and three steals. Junior center Danielle Hagen grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.

GAME NOTES

AGAINST THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
The Bears are 0-2 all-time against teams from Illinois.

BREAKING EVEN LEADS TO GOOD THINGS
The last time the Bears started 1-1 was the 2003-04 season, when they finished 16-12.

BEARS TURN OUT BEST SHOOTING SINCE 2OO3
Northern Colorado's 51 percent shooting performance against Cal State-Fullerton on Sunday was their best since Dec. 6, 2003, in a 103-61 win over New York Tech.

FOSDICK STARTS WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Junior guard Jena Fosdick scored 26 points and had a career-high eight rebounds in the win over Cal State-Fullerton after coming off an off-season head injury. Fosdick's five 3-pointers moved her to within six trifectas of ninth on the all-time Northern Colorado list.

THE REBOUNDING MACHINE
Junior center Danielle Hagen grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against Cal State-Fullerton. It was the first time since 2002 that a Bear had grabbed at least 15 rebounds.

NOT JUST BEGINNER'S LUCK
Freshman guard Jabrenta Hubbard followed up her performance against Air Force with 18 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range against the Titans. Hubbard also dished out five assists and had three steals.

VEAL TO JOIN SPIKERS FOR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
Sophomore Dani Veal will not make the trip to Bozeman, Mont., for the Wingate Classic. Veal, a middle blocker/outside hitter on the volleyball team, will play with the team at the DU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday against Denver and Colorado.

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.

BEARS DISPLAY NEW UNIFORMS
Northern Colorado is wearing new white uniforms at home this season. So far, it has served the team well as it is a perfect 1-0.

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.

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.

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 32-64 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.