@UNCBearsWBB Faces First Road Test of the Year Against UTSA

Friday, November 25

San Antonio, Texas

3:15 PM

University of Northern Colorado

UTSA

11/23/2016 9:38:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Northern Colorado women's basketball takes the road for the first time this year when they face UTSA

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – After closing out its four game homestand strong, Northern Colorado will hit the road for the first time this year when they head to San Antonio, Texas for Thanksgiving weekend. The Bears will take part in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic, starting on Friday when they take on the host Roadrunners.

Game Links: Gameday Central | Northern Colorado Notes | UTSA Notes | Big Sky Notes

The Matchup
Northern Colorado hits the road for the first time this season when they spend Thanksgiving weekend in San Antonio. The Bears coming off a pair of big victories at home against Florida Gulf Coast and San Diego.

Tournament host UTSA is looking to rebound from a loss at Oregon on Saturday and go to one game under .500. The Roadrunners are welcoming the Bears, Eastern Michigan and Tulane into town for the two day tournament.

Scouting the Roadrunners
UTSA has started the season slowly getting off to a 1-3 record. The Roadrunners lone win on the year came against Texas A&M-Kingsville in 70-44 fashion.

In their most recent game. The Roadrunners fell at Oregon 77-63. The duo of Loryn Goodwin and Carlie Heineman paced UTSA with a combined 33 points. Goodwin also added in seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.

For the year, Goodwin leads the team with 22.8 ppg, along with 5.3 apg and a solid 4.8 rpg.

The team has struggled with teams shooting well from behind the arc, allowing 7.0 3-pointers a game. Overall opponents are shooting 40.3 percent from the field.

Turnovers have also plagued the Roadrunners with 16.3 a game.

Coming into the year, UTSA was picked 11th in the CUSA preseason poll.

Last Time Out
• Northern Colorado had another thriller inside Bank of Colorado Arena, squeaking past San Diego 54-51. Savannah Smith hit the go-ahead shot with 17.3 seconds left, and led the team in scoring with 21 points. The final four minutes of the game featured one tie and four lead changes.

Against Conference USA
• UNC has played against three different Conference USA teams, 12 times overall, going 6-6 in those games. The Bears have played UTEP the most out of the group of FIU, North Texas and UTEP, with a 4-4 record.

On This Date
• November 25 has been a good day for the Bears over the years, going 6-1 overall. The team has played all of those games away from home owning a 5-1 away game record. Coming into this year the team has won its past five games on the date, including the most recent game against Air Force 71-51 in 2011.

Oh So Savvy
• Savannah Smith has started off the season with a bang. Her stat line reads, 18.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg and 1.3 spg. She leads the team in points and assists. In the team's first four games of the year she has a pair of 20 point games and has been in double figures in all of them.

• Smith earned a trio of honors for her performance last week. College Sports Madness named her both the Mid-Major and Big Sky Player of the Week, while the Big Sky Conference also gave her that honor.

Double Upset
• UNC took down a pair of Mid-Major Top 25 teams in Florida Gulf Coast and San Diego last week. FGCU was ranked No. 11 coming into the game while USD was No. 20.

Getting Respect
• After defeating both Florida Gulf Coast and San Diego last week, who were ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25, the Bears gained some votes this week. UNC earned 25 points in the poll putting them six spots away from being in the Top 25. This is the first time since the December 16, 2014 poll that UNC has received in the Mid-Major Top 25.

Paint Presence
• Courtney Smith has become quit the presence in the paint for Northern Colorado. She is averaging 27.5 minutes of play and tied for second on the team in scoring with 8.5 ppg and first in rebounding grabbing 6.8 rpg.

Record Watch
• Savannah Smith and Kianna Williams enjoyed career-highs against the FGCU. Smith scored a career best 25 points on 7-of-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. A deep bench is a problem, but a good problem to have.

Opening Month
• Northern Colorado has been able to get out to a good start in the opening month of the season historically, going 86-72 in the month of November. Since becoming the head coach of the Bears in 2014, Kamie Ethridge has compiled an 11-4 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 first four games, underclassmen accounted for 62.0 percent of the playing time.

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 has once again been on display this season. She is tied for second in scoring (8.5 ppg), third in rebounds (6.0 rpg) and second in assists (3.0 apg).

Charity Strip
• Once again this year, UNC is proving you want to avoid fouling them. The team is leading the Big Sky with an 81.5 percent free throw percentage and also puts them 11th in the nation. Savannah Scott has yet to miss a free throw this year, hitting all 15. Meanwhile, Savannah Smith has miss just two attempts out of 21.

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.

• That nightmare for opponents has already started this year. She is averaging 6.3 points and rebounds per game, along with 2.0 assists and steals and 1.8 blocks. She recorded her first career double-double against Florida Gulf Coast with a 12 point, 12 rebound game.

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.

• So far in her senior campaign, she has been a valuable sixth man for UNC. She averages a team most 19.8 minutes off the bench and is shooting an outstanding 52.9 percent from the field. She averages 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists.

Swat Team
• Opponents have had trouble scoring against Courtney Smith and Kianna Williams this season as they have combined for 13 blocks. Williams has seven while Smith has put up six.

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.

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 close out the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic against Eastern Michigan Sunday, and then return to the Centennial State, but stay on the road when they head north to take on Colorado State on December 4th.

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
• Back again this year 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.