@UNCBearsWBB Face Tough Road Test In South Dakota State

GREELEY, Colo. -- The Northern Colorado women's basketball team has seen its offense heat up during its three game win streak scoring 76.3 points a game. The streak and high scoring will be put to the test this weekend when the Bears travel to Brookings, South Dakota to take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-2) Saturday afternoon.

For all the gameday information make sure to check out GameDay Central.

Game notes: Northern Colorado | South Dakota State | Big Sky

The Matchup
Northern Colorado heads to Brookings on Saturday riding a three game winning streak. UNC has won by an average of 13.7 points during the streak. The Bears are 1-1 on the road this season.

South Dakota State has faced a challenging schedule early on this season posting a 4-2 overall record. The Jacks two loses have come against Top 10 teams in No. 3 Notre Dame (75-64) and No. 6 Maryland (62-55). Before taking on the Bears Saturday, SDSU takes on Portland State Thursday.

Scouting the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State has been consistently good under head coach Aaron Johnston, making five NCAA Tournament appearances in the last six years and this year doesn't look to be any different. SDSU was picked to finish first in the Summit League again this year.

The Jacks enter the week with a 4-2 record defeating quality teams in Marist, Arkansas, Pittsburgh and Old Dominion, while falling to two Top 10 teams in No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 6 Maryland.

SDSU is led by the duo of Macy Miller (19.7 ppg) and Kerri Young (12.7 ppg). Miller also leads the team in assists with 2.7 per game.

Ellie Thompson and Clarissa Ober grabbing 6.3 and 7.0 rebounds a game, each. Not only do they work the glass, but they also are tough to shoot over combining for 13 blocks through six games.

Last Time Against SDSU
UNC and SDSU faced each other, just a year ago in Greeley, renewing the series between the two teams after an 11 year break.

The Jacks led the game from beginning to end coming away with a 71-48 win over the Bears. SDSU had four players finish in double figures scoring and out-rebounded UNC 43-29.

Kourteney Zadina was the lone Northern Colorado player to finish in double digits scoring with 11 points.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado extended its win streak to three on Tuesday by defeating Utah State 74-60 at home. UNC shot well in the first half and used a 26-9 fourth quarter to earn the victory. Kourteney Zadina led UNC with 19 points and making three of the teams 12 3-point shots.

Against the Summit League
This will be the second time this year UNC faces a Summit League opponent. The Bears opened the season against fellow Summit Legaue member Denver, winning 60-51. All-time Northern Colorado is 77-102 against Summit League teams. Most of those meetings have come against Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota State, South Dakota and South Dakota State in the old NCC.

On This Date
UNC is 4-9 all-time when playing on December 5th. The Bears have won on the road just once on the date, back in 1981 over CSU-Pueblo. It has been eight years since the team played on the fifth, falling to Air Force at home 56-53.

Month of December
Northern Colorado holds a record just above .500 in the month of December going 120-113. The best the team ever did in the month was a 6-0 record during the 1994-95 season. Under Ethridge, UNC is 3-4.

From Downtown
The Bears have been feeling it from behind the arc this season averaging 10.4 made threes a game. That ranks for sixth best in the nation, but only third best in the Big Sky. Both Idaho (2nd) and Sacramento State (3rd) are ahead of UNC.

Youth is Served
UNC will be leaning on a group of young players this season with 54.0 percent of the team's scoring coming from underclassmen and 43.1 percent of the team's rebounds.

Valuing the Ball
Once again this year UNC is valuing the rock, and forcing teams into turnovers. They rank 8th in the country and first in the Big Sky with a 1.56 assist-turnover ratio. A key component to that ratio is Katie Longwell who ranks 29th in the nation with a 3.00 ratio herself.

RPI Report
As the calendar turned to December, the first RPI ratings of the year came out. UNC is ranked 183 as of 12/2, seventh best in the Big Sky. Idaho State is the highest at 59.

What's on Deck?
The team returns home to take on in-state rival Colorado State next Tuesday. The Bears will host the Rams inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The two teams met last year in Fort Collins for the first round of the WNIT. Northern Colorado came away with a thrilling 53-48 win.

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