@UNCBearsWBB caps off weekend with San Diego

Sunday, November 20

Greeley, Colo.

2:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

San Diego

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11/19/2016 1:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Thomas Hoffman, uncbears.com

Game Coverage
Live Stream | Live Stats
Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Big Sky | San Diego
Tickets 3$ Sunday Matinee

Lace up 4 Pediatric Cancer
Northern Colorado has team up with Go4theGoal to host a Lace up 4 Pediatric Cancer game on Sunday versus San Diego. Both the Bears and the Toreros will be wearing gold laces to raise awareness for the cause. UNC will also don gold warm-up shirts and are encouraging all fans to sport their gold attire. Ribbons will be handed out and donations at the game will be accepted. To donate now visit donate.go4thegoal.org/BEARSWBB.

The Matchup
Northern Colorado is coming off an historic victory over Florida Gulf Coast. Not only did the Bears knock of a mid-major No. 7 team in the nation, but it was the teams' first win in a multiple overtime game in program history.

San Diego, also ranked in the top 25 in the College Insider mid-major poll, has rocketed off to a 3-0 start, with their most recent victory coming in 91-53 fashion over San Diego State.

UNC will be looking for its first victory over the Toreros.

Last Time against San Diego
The Toreros last visited Greeley in 2013. Jamie Derrieux led the Bears with 15, but USD pulled away in the second half, grabbing the victory, 69-56.

Northern Colorado led by four at the half, 34-30. USD exploded for 39 second half points compared to the Bears' 22.

Despite shooting 10 percentage points better, UNC was outrebounded 51-31, leading to San Diego's 13 point victory.

Scouting the Toreros
Cindy Fisher has the Toreros poised for another successfull season in San Diego. Ranked No. 24 in the mid-major preseason poll, USD is already off to a 3-0 start, averaging over 90 points per game.

Maya Hood is off to a lightning start tallying 19 points per game and pulling down north of eight rebounds.

USD has been able to keep turnovers low (12.0 per game) and assists near an all-time high (19.3 per game).

The Toreros have yet to be tested for a full four quarters, averaging +33.33 in scoring margin through the first three games of the 2016 campaign.

Last Time Out
• Northern Colorado needed two overtime periods to knock off preseason mid-major No. 7 Florida Gulf Coast. A last second three from Krstyl Leger-Walker tied the game in regulation before Danielle Noble scored a two-point bucket to seal the double-OT thriller.

Against the WCC
• Twenty one times the Bears have battled an opponent from the West Coast Conference. UNC is 7-14 in those games with their most recent victory coming in 2011 at San Franciso.

On This Date
• On November 20, UNC is 8-5 all-time on the calendar date. Impressively, the Bears sports an 8-1 record at home in those 13 matchups. The last win for the Bears came in 2015 when the Bears bested the Zips of Akron, 78-65.

Record Watch
• Savannah Smith and Kianna Williams enjoyed career highs on Friday against the Eagles. Smith scored a career best 25 points on 7-16 shooting, while Williams pulled down 12 rebounds, solidifying her first career double-double.

Clocking in Overtime
• The Bears' victory over Florida Gulf Coast marked only the third time UNC had played in a game with more than a single overtime period. Northern Colorado was previously 0-2 in those games before beating FGCU, 77-74.

Playing time Conundrum
• All 11 players on the active roster for UNC saw at least seven minutes of playing time in their win against Denver on Monday evening. A deep bench is a problem, but a good problem to have.

Mid-major Madness
• For the second time in two games, the Bears will face a team in the College Insider mid-major poll (FGCU #7, USD #24).

Opening Month
• Northern Colorado has been able to get out to a good start in the opening month of the season historically, going 83-72 in the month of November. Since becoming the head coach of the Bears in 2014, Kamie Ethridge has compiled an 8-4 record in the month.

Youth is served
• Youth will be a theme for the 2016-17 UNC women's basketball team as the roster features just three upperclassmen compared to eight underclassmen. In the season opener the underclassmen accounted for 63.0 percent of the playing time.

Bench Depth
• Katie Longwell and Danielle Noble gave UNC fans a glimpse of the type of bench depth the team will have this season. The duo combined for 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Exhibition Season
• Northern Colorado warmed up for the 2016-17 season with a pair of exhibition games last week, hosting Black Hills State and Regis. UNC came away with not only wins in both games, but also some valuable experience.

• Against Regis, Savannah Smith led the way with 25 points as the Bears won 71-56. Kianna Williams also had a solid game with nine rebounds, five points, two assists, two blocks and four steals.

• In the game vs Black Hills State, it was a more balanced offensive attack for UNC. Savannah Smith led the way again with 22 points while both Krystal Leger-Walker and Savannah Scott each added in 14 points each. Northern Colorado used a 15-0 run in the third quarter to earn the 79-73 comeback win.

With the Assist!
• Northern Colorado prides itself on ball movement within its offense and it shows in their assist numbers. Last season the Bears ranked in the Top 100 of the NCAA is assists per game with 14.7. They also had a Top 40 assist to turnover ratio of 1.08.

Class of Kath
• Katie Longwell is the team's lone senior this season. Last year she led the team in assists and finished third in the Big Sky with 2.16 assists per game. She also posted one of the top assist to turnover ratios in the country with a 2.16 mark.

From downtown
• The Bears filled up the basket from behind the arc last season averaging 8.1 made threes a game. That ranked16th best in the nation, but only third best in the Big Sky. Both Idaho (4th) and Sacramento State (1st) are ahead of UNC.

UNC's Swiss Army Knife
• Savannah Scott could be better known as Northern Colorado's Swiss army knife for the way she plays. Last season she led the team in scoring (9.5 ppg), rebounding (4.9 rpg) and steals (1.83 spg), and ranked second is assists (2.7 apg). Her do it all ability will once again be a key for UNC this year.

D-D-D-Defense
• UNC did a good job last season keeping its opponents from scoring, giving up an average of 62.0 points a game last year to rank first in the Big Sky.

Kiwi's Complete Game
• Junior Kianna Williams can be a match up nightmare for opposing coaches to plan for. Her versatility allows her to guard multiple positions and play both inside and outside. Last year she had one of the most statistically complete games for the Bears, averaging 6.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals. She showed her versatility as a player in the exhibition game against Regis when she finished with nine rebounds, five points, four steals, two assists, and two blocks.

The other Kiwi
• While Kianna Williams nickname is Kiwi, Northern Colorado has a true Kiwi on the team this year in Krystal Leger-Walker. The freshman guard comes to Greeley from Waikato, New Zealand. Leger-Walker brings plenty of international competition experience with her as she was on the New Zealand National Team this past summer, and competed for their 3 on 3 FIBA Championship team.

Freshman Four
• Northern Colorado welcomes a fearsome foursome for its freshman class this year. The group features two guards, a forward and a center in Krystal Leger-Walker, Mandy Karako, Abby Kain, and Bridget Hintz.

Proving Them Wrong
• UNC will be out to prove the Big Sky Preseason poll wrong this season. Both the media and coaches poll picked the Bears to finish ninth this year. Idaho was the favorite in the coaches' poll and Montana State in the media.

Succeeding off the Court
• UNC women's basketball team has not only been succeeding on the court, but also in the classroom. Last year seven players earned a spot on the Big Sky All-Academic team for having a cumulative GPA of over 3.2 and played in at least half of the team's games.

What's on deck?
•The Bears will hit the road for a fou-game swing before returning home to the Bank of Colorado Arena to face Colorado Christian on December 13.

Social Bears
• Wanting to stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball? Make sure to follow the team on social media. We are on Facebook: /UNCBearsWBB, Twitter: @UNCBearsWBB and Instagram: UNCBearsWBB. Make sure to use the #Bearsketball as well, the official hashtag for the team.

UNC Bears Focus
• New this year for all Northern Colorado athletics fans is the UNC Focus presented by Advantage Bank. The UNC Focus is a weekly radio show. The Voice of the Bears Troy Coverdale will host it each Wednesday night on 1310 KFKA from 5pm-6pm.