University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, March 2
Greeley, Colo.
7:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Montana State
Photo by: Rob Trubia
@UNCBearsWBB Hosts Big Sky Leading Montana State Wednesday
2/29/2016 4:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado looks earn a home win over Big Sky leading Montana State Wednesday
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball returns home for its final two games of the season starting on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. against Montana State. The Bears and Bobcats will be meeting for the second time this season, MSU won the first game in Bozeman 66-58.
For all the information on the game, visit Gameday Central.
Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Montana State | Big Sky
Gameday Happenings
Before the game Wednesday, UNC Athletics will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. There will be a girls sports clinic held from 5:15-6:30 p.m. with all of UNC's athletic teams represented at the event.
Check-in for the clinic will start at 5:00 p.m. and take place inside the UNC Campus Recreation Center located next to Butler-Hancock Athletic Center. The first 100 girls to the event will receive a free t-shirt, along with all of those in attendance being entered for a chance to win a scholarship to one of the many sports camps offered during the summer and FREE admission to the women's basketball game vs Montana State at 7:00 p.m.
Parents of the kids in attendance will also be able to receive a discounted ticket for the game.
To pre-register for the clinic click here.
The Matchup
Wednesday's game between Northern Colorado and Montana State has plenty of implications associated with it for each team.
UNC is looking to move up to the No. 7 seed for next week's Big Sky Tournament. The Bears need to go 2-0 for this to happen.
MSU is currently first in the conference and has clinched a first round bye, but with two wins this week will be guaranteed the top seed.
Scouting the Bobcats
Montana State holds a one game lead in the Big Sky standings with two to go, as they look to wrap up the regular season title and top seed for next week's tournament.
The Bobcats have dropped just two games in conference play this season, both on the road against Eastern Washington and Montana.
Peyton Ferris is the team's leading scorer with 15.2 points a game, coming off the bench for MSU. Teammate Jasmine Hommes isn't far behind her scoring 15.1 points per game.
Leading the team's attack is Hannah Caudill who is averaging 5.6 assists per game which leads the Big Sky. As a team MSU dishes out 18.3 assists a game which is also best in the conference.
With all of the good ball movement and points off the bench, Montana State ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 76.4 points, only behind Sacramento State's 86.0.
Last Time Against Montana State
Montana State ended UNC's three-game win streak in the series between the two teams behind Peyton Ferris' 24 points scored off the bench.
Ferris lifted the Bobcats over the Bears in a 66-58 game that featured both a quarter where neither team scored over 10 points and another where both teams scored over 25.
In the loss Katie Longwell hit four 3-pointers to lead the team with 12 points. Savannah Scott was the only other Bear in double figures scoring with 10 points.
Last Time Out
The Bears snapped thier three-game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated Portland State 70-59 on the road. UNC was led by the 21 points off the bench from senior Kyleigh Hiser.
Against the Big Sky
UNC is 101-125 all-time against Big Sky opponents. Since joining the conference in the 2006-07 season, the Bears are 91-89 all-time. Last season the Bears went 12-6 in the conference to finish third.
On This Date
The Bears are 2-3 all-time when playing on the second day of March. UNC is currently on a two game win streak on the date, with both those wins coming at home. The most recent of the two game in 2013 when they beat Portland State 63-48.
March Madness
Every year as the calendar turns to March, madness ensues. For UNC they experienced plenty of madness last year. After falling in the Big Sky Tournament Championship, UNC qualified for the WNIT and went on the best postseason run in the program's history. The Bears would win at Colorado State, and defeat South Dakota at home before falling to eventual WNIT champion UCLA in the third round.
Overall through the program's history Northern Colorado is 28-47.
Veteran Leadership
Both Kyleigh Hiser and Rebecca Howell have shown their veteran leadership as of late, and it showed last week against Sacramento State and Portland State. Hiser and Howell led the Bears in both games. Hiser averaged 20.0 points over the two games, including scoring 21 points against PSU. Meanwhile Howell had her first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds against Sacramento State and averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the two games.
Kyleigh Hiser has become a valuable player off the bench for UNC. Over the past five games she is averaging 13.6 points a game, while shooting 49.1 percent.
Senior Rebecca Howell has become a force inside for UNC. Having a three game stretch from 2/4-2/11 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.
#RoadtoReno
New this year the Big Sky Conference will be headed to Reno, Nevada for both the men's and women's tournament. The #RoadToReno will begin on New Year's Eve and take place over March 7-13 for the women's tournament.
If the season were to end today, UNC would be playing in the opening round as the No. 8 seed against No. 9 seed Idaho State. The Bears will most likely be in the 8-9 game, but by winning out and Sacramento State losing out they still have a shot at the No. 7 seed.
With the Assist!
Northern Colorado shared the ball well last week, averaging 20.0 assists a game. Katie Longwell led that charge, with seven in each game.
Nail Biter
It was another nail bitter for Northern Colorado on February 20th against North Dakota. Kourteney Zadina hit the possible game winning three with 0:06 left, but UND was fouled with 0:01 left and made both free throws to sneak away with the 59-58 win.
UNC had a recent three game stretch with two of the three 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.
For the season, the Bears have been in eight games decided by four points or less, compiling a 4-5 record in them.
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 (10.0), rebounds (4.8) 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 in all but two games since the SUU game. Over that nine game stretch she is averaging 12.7 points on 42.6 percent shooting, including hitting on 21 3-pointers.
D-D-D-Defense
The Bears have really stepped it up defensively in Big Sky play. In the team's Big Sky games, Northern Colorado is holding teams to just 61.8 points a game, ranking second in the conference. Which is 0.7 points 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.
UNC turned up the pressure on defense on Saturday against Portland State. The Bears forced 22 Vikings turnovers leading to 22 points for Northern Colorado. 17 of those turnovers came via a steal. Every player who played in the game recorded at least one steal for the team, led by Katie Longwell and Kianna Williams three each.
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 16th 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 42nd in the country and fifth in the Big Sky with a 1.07 assist-turnover ratio.
RPI Report
UNC is ranked 185 as of 2/29, seventh best in the Big Sky. North Dakota is the highest at 112.
What's on Deck?
The Bears have one more home game before heading to Reno for the conference tournament. UNC will host Montana on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Before the game, Northern Colorado will honor its four seniors.
Around the Den
Men's basketball closes out its away schedule out with the tough trip to Montana and Montana State on Thursday and Saturday.
Wrestling will be in Kansas City this weekend to compete in the Big 12 Championships.
Baseball heads back to California to take on Pacific for four games starting on Friday.
Softball heads south on I-25 to face New Mexico for three games in Albuquerque.
Both men's and women's tennis are home this weekend, each hosting one match. Women's tennis will compete on Saturday against Weber State at 1:00 p.m. Men's tennis hosts Metro State-Denver on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
For all the information on the game, visit Gameday Central.
Game Notes: Northern Colorado | Montana State | Big Sky
Gameday Happenings
Before the game Wednesday, UNC Athletics will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. There will be a girls sports clinic held from 5:15-6:30 p.m. with all of UNC's athletic teams represented at the event.
Check-in for the clinic will start at 5:00 p.m. and take place inside the UNC Campus Recreation Center located next to Butler-Hancock Athletic Center. The first 100 girls to the event will receive a free t-shirt, along with all of those in attendance being entered for a chance to win a scholarship to one of the many sports camps offered during the summer and FREE admission to the women's basketball game vs Montana State at 7:00 p.m.
Parents of the kids in attendance will also be able to receive a discounted ticket for the game.
To pre-register for the clinic click here.
The Matchup
Wednesday's game between Northern Colorado and Montana State has plenty of implications associated with it for each team.
UNC is looking to move up to the No. 7 seed for next week's Big Sky Tournament. The Bears need to go 2-0 for this to happen.
MSU is currently first in the conference and has clinched a first round bye, but with two wins this week will be guaranteed the top seed.
Scouting the Bobcats
Montana State holds a one game lead in the Big Sky standings with two to go, as they look to wrap up the regular season title and top seed for next week's tournament.
The Bobcats have dropped just two games in conference play this season, both on the road against Eastern Washington and Montana.
Peyton Ferris is the team's leading scorer with 15.2 points a game, coming off the bench for MSU. Teammate Jasmine Hommes isn't far behind her scoring 15.1 points per game.
Leading the team's attack is Hannah Caudill who is averaging 5.6 assists per game which leads the Big Sky. As a team MSU dishes out 18.3 assists a game which is also best in the conference.
With all of the good ball movement and points off the bench, Montana State ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 76.4 points, only behind Sacramento State's 86.0.
Last Time Against Montana State
Montana State ended UNC's three-game win streak in the series between the two teams behind Peyton Ferris' 24 points scored off the bench.
Ferris lifted the Bobcats over the Bears in a 66-58 game that featured both a quarter where neither team scored over 10 points and another where both teams scored over 25.
In the loss Katie Longwell hit four 3-pointers to lead the team with 12 points. Savannah Scott was the only other Bear in double figures scoring with 10 points.
Last Time Out
The Bears snapped thier three-game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated Portland State 70-59 on the road. UNC was led by the 21 points off the bench from senior Kyleigh Hiser.
Against the Big Sky
UNC is 101-125 all-time against Big Sky opponents. Since joining the conference in the 2006-07 season, the Bears are 91-89 all-time. Last season the Bears went 12-6 in the conference to finish third.
On This Date
The Bears are 2-3 all-time when playing on the second day of March. UNC is currently on a two game win streak on the date, with both those wins coming at home. The most recent of the two game in 2013 when they beat Portland State 63-48.
March Madness
Every year as the calendar turns to March, madness ensues. For UNC they experienced plenty of madness last year. After falling in the Big Sky Tournament Championship, UNC qualified for the WNIT and went on the best postseason run in the program's history. The Bears would win at Colorado State, and defeat South Dakota at home before falling to eventual WNIT champion UCLA in the third round.
Overall through the program's history Northern Colorado is 28-47.
Veteran Leadership
Both Kyleigh Hiser and Rebecca Howell have shown their veteran leadership as of late, and it showed last week against Sacramento State and Portland State. Hiser and Howell led the Bears in both games. Hiser averaged 20.0 points over the two games, including scoring 21 points against PSU. Meanwhile Howell had her first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds against Sacramento State and averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the two games.
Kyleigh Hiser has become a valuable player off the bench for UNC. Over the past five games she is averaging 13.6 points a game, while shooting 49.1 percent.
Senior Rebecca Howell has become a force inside for UNC. Having a three game stretch from 2/4-2/11 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.
#RoadtoReno
New this year the Big Sky Conference will be headed to Reno, Nevada for both the men's and women's tournament. The #RoadToReno will begin on New Year's Eve and take place over March 7-13 for the women's tournament.
If the season were to end today, UNC would be playing in the opening round as the No. 8 seed against No. 9 seed Idaho State. The Bears will most likely be in the 8-9 game, but by winning out and Sacramento State losing out they still have a shot at the No. 7 seed.
With the Assist!
Northern Colorado shared the ball well last week, averaging 20.0 assists a game. Katie Longwell led that charge, with seven in each game.
Nail Biter
It was another nail bitter for Northern Colorado on February 20th against North Dakota. Kourteney Zadina hit the possible game winning three with 0:06 left, but UND was fouled with 0:01 left and made both free throws to sneak away with the 59-58 win.
UNC had a recent three game stretch with two of the three 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.
For the season, the Bears have been in eight games decided by four points or less, compiling a 4-5 record in them.
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 (10.0), rebounds (4.8) 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 in all but two games since the SUU game. Over that nine game stretch she is averaging 12.7 points on 42.6 percent shooting, including hitting on 21 3-pointers.
D-D-D-Defense
The Bears have really stepped it up defensively in Big Sky play. In the team's Big Sky games, Northern Colorado is holding teams to just 61.8 points a game, ranking second in the conference. Which is 0.7 points 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.
UNC turned up the pressure on defense on Saturday against Portland State. The Bears forced 22 Vikings turnovers leading to 22 points for Northern Colorado. 17 of those turnovers came via a steal. Every player who played in the game recorded at least one steal for the team, led by Katie Longwell and Kianna Williams three each.
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 16th 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 42nd in the country and fifth in the Big Sky with a 1.07 assist-turnover ratio.
RPI Report
UNC is ranked 185 as of 2/29, seventh best in the Big Sky. North Dakota is the highest at 112.
What's on Deck?
The Bears have one more home game before heading to Reno for the conference tournament. UNC will host Montana on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Before the game, Northern Colorado will honor its four seniors.
Around the Den
Men's basketball closes out its away schedule out with the tough trip to Montana and Montana State on Thursday and Saturday.
Wrestling will be in Kansas City this weekend to compete in the Big 12 Championships.
Baseball heads back to California to take on Pacific for four games starting on Friday.
Softball heads south on I-25 to face New Mexico for three games in Albuquerque.
Both men's and women's tennis are home this weekend, each hosting one match. Women's tennis will compete on Saturday against Weber State at 1:00 p.m. Men's tennis hosts Metro State-Denver on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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