@UNCBearsWBB Welcomes In-State Rival Colorado State Tuesday

GREELEY, Colo.—The Northern Colorado women's basketball team returns home Tuesday night to host in-state rival Colorado State. The Rams and Bears will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. mountain time.

For all the information on the game go to GameDay Central.

Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Colorado State | Big Sky

The Match Up
Northern Colorado continues a tough three game stretch coming home to host in-state rival Colorado State. The Bears three game win streak was snapped on Saturday when a comeback effort fell short at South Dakota State, losing 66-62.

Colorado State will have been off for six days when they take on the Bears Tuesday night. CSU comes in with a 6-1 record. The last time out for the Rams they defeated rival Colorado in a thrilling 64-63 game.

GameDay Happenings
Tuesday night's game is sponsored by Wells Fargo who has teamed up with UNC Athletics for some great promotions at the game:

Fans who have a Wells Fargo Card can use it to get a special discount on tickets. By using your Wells Fargo debit or credit card while buying tickets at the Northern Colorado box office you are able to purchase of to two children's tickets for free
During halftime of the game two fans will win a pair of Beats by Dre headphones.
Also at halftime, back by popular demand the Inflatamanicas will put on a fantastic show.
Wells Fargo will also be giving away 100 youth t-shirts, 50 emergency car kits, and 50 basketball stress balls.

Last Time Against Colorado State
It was just last March when the Bears and Rams last faced each other. UNC would come from behind to defeat CSU in the first round of the WNIT, 53-48.

Both teams struggled shooting during the game, being held to a combined 33-for-93 from the field. D'shara Strange and Katie Longwell led the way for UNC scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.

AJ Newton's 11 points and Alana Arias' 10 led the Rams. CSU's Gritt Ryder had 10 assists in the game.

Scouting the Rams
Head coach Ryun Williams has made himself a solid program at CSU. After a tough first season as the Rams head coach his teams have won back-to-back Mountain West regular season titles and recorded over 20 wins in each season.

This season Colorado State is off to a good start, coming into Tuesday's game with a 6-1 record. CSU holds wins over both Colorado and BYU already this season.

William's team has balanced scoring, with four players averaging over 8.0 ppg, led by Elin Gustavsson's 11.0 ppg. Ellen Nystrom is the team's second leading scoring with 10.7 ppg and dishing out 4.3 assists a game.

The Rams are a tough defensive team as well, holding opponents to just 50.7 points a game, and out-rebounding them 40.3-36.3.

Expectations are again high for Colorado State this season as they were picked to finish first in the Mountain West.

Last Time Out
UNC's three game winning streak was snapped on Saturday at South Dakota State. Despite a 17-3 run in the fourth quarter, SDSU held on for a 66-62 win. Katie Longwell was a key factor in the game for UNC scoring 19 points including hitting five 3-pointers. Rebecca Howell grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the game as well.

Against the Mountain West
This will be the second time in a week the Bears have faced an opponent from the Mountain West. Last Tuesday, UNC defeated Utah State 74-60 in Greeley. All-time Northern Colorado is 51-74 vs the Mountain West.

On This Date
UNC holds a winning record when playing on December 8th, at 5-2. Six of the seven games played on the date have occured at home with a record of 4-2. The last time the Bears played on the 8th was in 2007 when they hosted Columbia and won 71-51.

Month of December
Northern Colorado holds a record just above .500 in the month of December going 120-114. The best the team ever did in the month was a 6-0 record during the 1994-95 season. Under Ethridge, UNC is 3-5.

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

Stuck like Glue
After the game against South Dakota State, Kamie Ethridge called Savannah Scott, "the glue that keeps the team together." Scott has had a strong start to her sophomore season. She has stuffed the stat sheet with her play averaging 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals a game.

Valuing the Ball
Once again this year UNC is valuing the rock, and forcing teams into turnovers. They rank 6th 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 24th 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 198 as of 12/6, sixth best in the Big Sky. Idaho State is the highest at 57.

What's on Deck?
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Bears. After finishing up finals week this week, UNC will host nationally ranked USF on December 15. The Bulls defeated Northern Colorado last year 84-43.