University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, February 13
Greeley, Colo.
2:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Eastern Washington
Photo by: Rob Trubia
@UNCBearsWBB Aims For Weekend Sweep Against Eastern Washington
2/12/2016 5:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado women's basketball tries to extend home win streak to six game
GREELEY, Colo. – The Northern Colorado women's basketball team will be looking for a weekend sweep when they host Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. UNC is currently riding a five-game home win streak after defeating Idaho in overtime 70-68 Thursday night.
For all the information on the game, visit GameDay Central.
Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Eastern Washington
Gameday Happenings
It is Play 4 Kay day at UNC as the team and athletic department help raise awareness and support about breast cancer. The team will be wearing special pink Play 4 Kay warm-up shirts and encourage fans to join in as well by wearing pink. The team is also raising money for the Play 4 Kay fund at www.play4kay.org/uncbearswbb.
The Matchup
Saturday afternoon's matchup between Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington features two teams looking to pick up important wins in the conference.
UNC will be looking to finish the weekend with a 2-0 sweep after defeating Idaho on Thursday night, 70-68 in overtime.
Meanwhile, EWU is trying for the road split after falling to North Dakota 72-69 in Grand Forks Thursday to drop down to second place in the conference.
Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles are led by the Big Sky leading scorer Hayley Hodgins 21.0 ppg and her sister Delaney's 15.5. As a team they are averaging 70.0 points a game, which ranks fourth overall in the Big Sky.
Tisha Phillips leads EWU's high powered offense, averaging 4.6 assists a game, ranking second in the conference. She is also averaging 10.6 ppg.
Surprisingly with Phillips ranking that high in the conference for assists, the Eagles average the fewest per game in the Big Sky with 12.4 a game.
Ashlie Payne is the fourth and final Eagle to average double figures scoring with 11.2 points a game while also grabbing a team leading 7.9 rebounds a game.
Delaney Hodgins is not far behind Payne on the boards grabbing 7.0 a game.
EWU is coming off a 72-69 loss on Thursday at North Dakota. Hayley Hodgins led the team with 27 points.
Last Time Against Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado rang in the New Year the last time the two teams faced each other, with Eastern Washington defending its home court in a 59-55 win.
The Bears comeback effort fell short against the Eagles who built a 13 point lead going into the fourth quarter. UNC would fight back, but could not come all the way back.
Kianna Williams led the team in the game, with 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Last Time Out
Northern Colorado extended its home win streak to five on Thursday night, defeating Idaho 70-68 in overtime. UNC had four players finish with double figures scoring led by Rebecca Howell's 15 points.
Against the Big Sky
UNC is 100-122 all-time against Big Sky opponents. Since joining the conference in the 2006-07 season, the Bears are 90-86 all-time. Last season the Bears went 12-6 in the conference to finish third.
On This Date
The Bears are 4-7 on the February 13th. Five of the 11 games on the date have been played inside Bank of Colorado Arena with the team going 3-2 in them. The last time UNC had a game on the date was in 2014 at Montana where they lost 61-55.
Month of February
Northern Colorado had a historic February last season, tying a program record with seven wins in the month and going 7-1 overall. As a program the Bears are 148-164 during the second month of the year.
Inside Presence
Senior Rebecca Howell has become a force inside for UNC. Over the past three games she is averaging 15.7 points and 4.0 rebounds on 61.8 percent shooting. Against Weber State she set a new career-high with 18 points scored.
Extra Time
Drama has been high recently for UNC, with two of its past three games going into overtime. In those two OT games, UNC has gone 1-1, falling to Weber State and defeating Idaho.
When Northern Colorado played at Weber State. The Bears and Wildcats played in the longest game in program history going to three overtimes. The previous longest was a double-overtime game against North Dakota State on January 3, 2000. Northern Colorado also lost that game by three.
UNC's Swiss Army Knife
Savannah Scott has turned into UNC's Swiss army knife this year, doing it all for the Bears. She leads the team in points (10.2), rebounds (5.1) and steals (1.9) while also being second in assists (2.7).
On February 4th she recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in UNC's game at Weber State.
Savvy Taking Off
Redshirt freshman Savannah Smith has become a key player off the bench for UNC recently. She had a career high 20 points against Southern Utah (1/21) and tied it at Weber State (2/4) and has scored in double figures ever since the SUU game. Over that six game stretch she is averaging 15.3 points on 40.2 percent shooting, including hitting on 14 3-pointers.
D-D-D-Defense
The Bears have really stepped it up defensively in Big Sky play. In the team's 12 Big Sky games, Northern Colorado is holding teams to just 60.1 points a game, ranking second in the conference, just 0.1 point behind Idaho State.
UNC put the clamps down on defense on January 7th against Idaho State in the second half. For the half the Bears made a stop on 24 of Idaho State's 31 possessions. They also held ISU to just two points in the third quarter and 1-of-12 shooting. The Bengals were held scoreless for an 11:06 period allowing UNC to come back and take a seven point lead.
Against Montana State, defense once again proved to be important in UNC's comeback attempt. In the third quarter of the game, the Bears held the Bobcats to just 2-13 shooting and six points overall.
The Bears defense had its best performance to date against Southern Utah (1/21). Not only did they hold the T-Birds to 44 points, but they forced 21 turnovers, 10 via steals and held them to 28.6 percent shooting.
Against Idaho on February 11th, UNC's defense once again proved to be valuable holding Idaho to just 7 3-pointers, which was below its season average of 10.5. The Bears also forced the Vandals into 18 turnovers.
Setting the Bar High
The Bears have been setting a bunch of new career-highs recently. Savannah Scott has set new career-highs in three different categories over the last five games in assists, 10 vs NAU (1/23), steals, six vs SUU (1/21), and rebounds, 10 vs WSU (2/4). Scott is not the only Savannah setting career-highs, Savannah Smith has scored 20 points twice, first vs Southern Utah and then against Weber State. She also grabbed a career high six rebounds against SUU. Finally Kianna Williams and Rebecca Howell set new highs of their own against Weber State. Williams grabbed 10 rebounds in the game and Howell scored 18 points.
Road Woes
Northern Colorado hopes its road woes this season are over after picking up the victory at Idaho State on Saturday. UNC has struggled on the road this season going 2-9 in true road games. The Bears are averaging 57.1 points a game way from Bank of Colorado Arena and allowing opponents to score 63.0. In the team's 11 road games, opponents have outshot UNC .432-to-.386.
Comeback Week
Northern Colorado had a pair of comeback victories to open home conference play. Against Idaho State UNC had its second biggest comeback as a program after overcoming a 14 point deficit. Kourteney Zadina hit the game-winning shot with 1.9 seconds left to secure the win. Against Weber State on that Saturday UNC once again overcame a double figure deficit. This one of the 12 point variety when Savannah Scott hit the game winner as time expired.
Finding Their Roles
Northern Colorado seems to be settling into its roles on the team as conference play has started. While Kourteney Zadina and Kyleigh Hiser are looked at as sharp shooters, Savannah Scott and Kianna Williams have stepped up as stat sheet stuffers. Another couple roles that have been well defined for the team are the solid inside presence of Rebecca Howell and Courtney Smith on both ends of the court.
Kiwi Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Kianna Williams has taken off in her sophomore season doing it all for the Bears. She ranks fifth on the team in scoring (6.7 ppg), tied for third in assists (2.2 apg), second in rebounds (4.5 rpg) and second in steals (1.5 spg).
From Downtown
The Bears have been feeling it from behind the arc this season averaging 8.0 made threes a game. That ranks tied for 18th best in the nation, but only third best in the Big Sky. Both Idaho (4th) and Sacramento State (1st) are ahead of UNC.
Valuing the Ball
Once again this year UNC is valuing the rock, and forcing teams into turnovers. They rank 39th in the country and fifth in the Big Sky with a 1.09 assist-turnover ratio.
RPI Report
UNC is ranked 155 as of 2/12, second best in the Big Sky. North Dakota is the highest at 118.
What's on Deck?
The Bears close out a three-game homestand when they host North Dakota next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Around the Den
Men's basketball looks to end a three-game losing streak at Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon.
Both men's and women's tennis return home this weekend. The men host Eastern Washington (2/12) and Air Force (2/14), while the women host Colorado, before heading to Laramie, Wyoming to take on Drake (2/13) and Wyoming (2/14).
Softball starts its season this weekend in Arlington, Texas playing five games over three days in part of the University of Texas at Arlington Tournament.
For all the information on the game, visit GameDay Central.
Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Eastern Washington
Gameday Happenings
It is Play 4 Kay day at UNC as the team and athletic department help raise awareness and support about breast cancer. The team will be wearing special pink Play 4 Kay warm-up shirts and encourage fans to join in as well by wearing pink. The team is also raising money for the Play 4 Kay fund at www.play4kay.org/uncbearswbb.
The Matchup
Saturday afternoon's matchup between Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington features two teams looking to pick up important wins in the conference.
UNC will be looking to finish the weekend with a 2-0 sweep after defeating Idaho on Thursday night, 70-68 in overtime.
Meanwhile, EWU is trying for the road split after falling to North Dakota 72-69 in Grand Forks Thursday to drop down to second place in the conference.
Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles are led by the Big Sky leading scorer Hayley Hodgins 21.0 ppg and her sister Delaney's 15.5. As a team they are averaging 70.0 points a game, which ranks fourth overall in the Big Sky.
Tisha Phillips leads EWU's high powered offense, averaging 4.6 assists a game, ranking second in the conference. She is also averaging 10.6 ppg.
Surprisingly with Phillips ranking that high in the conference for assists, the Eagles average the fewest per game in the Big Sky with 12.4 a game.
Ashlie Payne is the fourth and final Eagle to average double figures scoring with 11.2 points a game while also grabbing a team leading 7.9 rebounds a game.
Delaney Hodgins is not far behind Payne on the boards grabbing 7.0 a game.
EWU is coming off a 72-69 loss on Thursday at North Dakota. Hayley Hodgins led the team with 27 points.
Last Time Against Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado rang in the New Year the last time the two teams faced each other, with Eastern Washington defending its home court in a 59-55 win.
The Bears comeback effort fell short against the Eagles who built a 13 point lead going into the fourth quarter. UNC would fight back, but could not come all the way back.
Kianna Williams led the team in the game, with 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Last Time Out
Northern Colorado extended its home win streak to five on Thursday night, defeating Idaho 70-68 in overtime. UNC had four players finish with double figures scoring led by Rebecca Howell's 15 points.
Against the Big Sky
UNC is 100-122 all-time against Big Sky opponents. Since joining the conference in the 2006-07 season, the Bears are 90-86 all-time. Last season the Bears went 12-6 in the conference to finish third.
On This Date
The Bears are 4-7 on the February 13th. Five of the 11 games on the date have been played inside Bank of Colorado Arena with the team going 3-2 in them. The last time UNC had a game on the date was in 2014 at Montana where they lost 61-55.
Month of February
Northern Colorado had a historic February last season, tying a program record with seven wins in the month and going 7-1 overall. As a program the Bears are 148-164 during the second month of the year.
Inside Presence
Senior Rebecca Howell has become a force inside for UNC. Over the past three games she is averaging 15.7 points and 4.0 rebounds on 61.8 percent shooting. Against Weber State she set a new career-high with 18 points scored.
Extra Time
Drama has been high recently for UNC, with two of its past three games going into overtime. In those two OT games, UNC has gone 1-1, falling to Weber State and defeating Idaho.
When Northern Colorado played at Weber State. The Bears and Wildcats played in the longest game in program history going to three overtimes. The previous longest was a double-overtime game against North Dakota State on January 3, 2000. Northern Colorado also lost that game by three.
UNC's Swiss Army Knife
Savannah Scott has turned into UNC's Swiss army knife this year, doing it all for the Bears. She leads the team in points (10.2), rebounds (5.1) and steals (1.9) while also being second in assists (2.7).
On February 4th she recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in UNC's game at Weber State.
Savvy Taking Off
Redshirt freshman Savannah Smith has become a key player off the bench for UNC recently. She had a career high 20 points against Southern Utah (1/21) and tied it at Weber State (2/4) and has scored in double figures ever since the SUU game. Over that six game stretch she is averaging 15.3 points on 40.2 percent shooting, including hitting on 14 3-pointers.
D-D-D-Defense
The Bears have really stepped it up defensively in Big Sky play. In the team's 12 Big Sky games, Northern Colorado is holding teams to just 60.1 points a game, ranking second in the conference, just 0.1 point behind Idaho State.
UNC put the clamps down on defense on January 7th against Idaho State in the second half. For the half the Bears made a stop on 24 of Idaho State's 31 possessions. They also held ISU to just two points in the third quarter and 1-of-12 shooting. The Bengals were held scoreless for an 11:06 period allowing UNC to come back and take a seven point lead.
Against Montana State, defense once again proved to be important in UNC's comeback attempt. In the third quarter of the game, the Bears held the Bobcats to just 2-13 shooting and six points overall.
The Bears defense had its best performance to date against Southern Utah (1/21). Not only did they hold the T-Birds to 44 points, but they forced 21 turnovers, 10 via steals and held them to 28.6 percent shooting.
Against Idaho on February 11th, UNC's defense once again proved to be valuable holding Idaho to just 7 3-pointers, which was below its season average of 10.5. The Bears also forced the Vandals into 18 turnovers.
Setting the Bar High
The Bears have been setting a bunch of new career-highs recently. Savannah Scott has set new career-highs in three different categories over the last five games in assists, 10 vs NAU (1/23), steals, six vs SUU (1/21), and rebounds, 10 vs WSU (2/4). Scott is not the only Savannah setting career-highs, Savannah Smith has scored 20 points twice, first vs Southern Utah and then against Weber State. She also grabbed a career high six rebounds against SUU. Finally Kianna Williams and Rebecca Howell set new highs of their own against Weber State. Williams grabbed 10 rebounds in the game and Howell scored 18 points.
Road Woes
Northern Colorado hopes its road woes this season are over after picking up the victory at Idaho State on Saturday. UNC has struggled on the road this season going 2-9 in true road games. The Bears are averaging 57.1 points a game way from Bank of Colorado Arena and allowing opponents to score 63.0. In the team's 11 road games, opponents have outshot UNC .432-to-.386.
Comeback Week
Northern Colorado had a pair of comeback victories to open home conference play. Against Idaho State UNC had its second biggest comeback as a program after overcoming a 14 point deficit. Kourteney Zadina hit the game-winning shot with 1.9 seconds left to secure the win. Against Weber State on that Saturday UNC once again overcame a double figure deficit. This one of the 12 point variety when Savannah Scott hit the game winner as time expired.
Finding Their Roles
Northern Colorado seems to be settling into its roles on the team as conference play has started. While Kourteney Zadina and Kyleigh Hiser are looked at as sharp shooters, Savannah Scott and Kianna Williams have stepped up as stat sheet stuffers. Another couple roles that have been well defined for the team are the solid inside presence of Rebecca Howell and Courtney Smith on both ends of the court.
Kiwi Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Kianna Williams has taken off in her sophomore season doing it all for the Bears. She ranks fifth on the team in scoring (6.7 ppg), tied for third in assists (2.2 apg), second in rebounds (4.5 rpg) and second in steals (1.5 spg).
From Downtown
The Bears have been feeling it from behind the arc this season averaging 8.0 made threes a game. That ranks tied for 18th best in the nation, but only third best in the Big Sky. Both Idaho (4th) and Sacramento State (1st) are ahead of UNC.
Valuing the Ball
Once again this year UNC is valuing the rock, and forcing teams into turnovers. They rank 39th in the country and fifth in the Big Sky with a 1.09 assist-turnover ratio.
RPI Report
UNC is ranked 155 as of 2/12, second best in the Big Sky. North Dakota is the highest at 118.
What's on Deck?
The Bears close out a three-game homestand when they host North Dakota next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Around the Den
Men's basketball looks to end a three-game losing streak at Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon.
Both men's and women's tennis return home this weekend. The men host Eastern Washington (2/12) and Air Force (2/14), while the women host Colorado, before heading to Laramie, Wyoming to take on Drake (2/13) and Wyoming (2/14).
Softball starts its season this weekend in Arlington, Texas playing five games over three days in part of the University of Texas at Arlington Tournament.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
C/F
/ Women's Basketball
PG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G/PG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballUNC Weekly Press Conference - Kristen Mattio (Mar 24)
Tuesday, March 24
Kristen Mattio and Tatum West WNIT Press Conference vs Air Force
Friday, March 20
UNC Weekly Press Conference - Kristen Mattio (Mar 17)
Tuesday, March 17
UNC Weekly Press Conference - Kristen Mattio (Mar 3)
Tuesday, March 03
