@UNCBearsWBB Looks to Keep Momentum Going at Northern Arizona Saturday

Saturday, January 7

Flagstaff, Ariz.

2:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Northern Arizona

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

1/6/2017 7:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Northern Colorado women's basketball team tries for its best start in Big Sky play Saturday at Northern Arizona

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – UNC women's basketball team heads to Northern Arizona Saturday afternoon, bringing with them a 3-0 Big Sky record and four-game win streak.

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

The Matchup
Saturday's game wraps up a two-game road trip for UNC. They are coming off a 83-53 win over Southern Utah on Thursday night.

The win matches the Bears best start in conference play since joining the Big Sky.

Northern Arizona is looking to move its Big Sky record to 1-1 after they lost at home against North Dakota 80-78.

Scouting The Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona is under the leadership of interim head coach Robyne Bostick this year. Coming into Saturday's game the Jacks are 5-8, and 1-1 in the Big Sky following a 80-78 loss against North Dakota Thursday.

The guard duo of Olivia Lucero and Rene Coggins lead the way for NAU, scoring 15.0 and 12.5 points, respectively. Coggins also leads the teams in assists with 3.1 per game.

For an inside presence, Brittani Lusain and Kaleigh Paplow provide in for Northern Arizona. They are grabbing 7.8 and 6.6 rebounds each, and both scoring over seven points a game.

NAU is one of the top 3-point shooting team's in the nation averaging 8.4 threes a game. That helps the team reach 70.9 points on average.

Coming into the 2016-17 season, Northern Arizona was picked to 11th by the coaches and 12th by the media.

Last Time Against Northern Arizona
Northern Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak to Northern Arizona with a 79-55 win inside Bank of Colorado Arena.

The Bears jumped out to a 41-24 lead at half and kept the Lumberjacks a fair distance away through the rest of the second half.

Savannah Scott finished the game just two points and rebounds shy of a triple-double. She had eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Savannah Smith and Kourteney Zadina led the team with 18 points each.

Last Time Out
• Northern Colorado improved to 3-0 in Big Sky play winning its first conference road game of the year over Southern Utah 83-53. The Bears followed the lead of guard Savannah Smith and her 24 points in 23 minutes to earn the win.

Against the Big Sky
• UNC joined the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season and have gone 95-91 since then. All-time against Big Sky schools, the Bears are 107-129.

On This Date
•The Bears are 2-3 all-time when playing on January 7th, having picked up the two wins in the last three times playing on the date. UNC is 1-1 when on the road. The last game on the date came in 2013 with a 78-73 win over Nebraska-Omaha.

Month of January
• Northern Colorado will look to get above the .500 mark all-time in the month of January this season. The team is 177-180 in the month. Under head coach Kamie Ethridge, the team is 9-10.

Oh So Savvy
• After a few quiet weeks for her standards, Savannah Smith went off on Thursday night, scoring 24 points in 23 minutes. She also had four steals in the team's win over Southern Utah.

• She has had a strong season for the team, with her stat line reading, 14.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg and 2.0 spg. She leads the team in scoring.

• In the team's first four games of the year she had a pair of 20 point games and has been in double figures in 12 of the team's 14 games. She has also hit a pair of game-winning shots for the team inside the final 20 seconds of the game against San Diego and Eastern Michigan.

• Smith earned a trio of honors for her performance over the week of November 14-20. 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.

Block Party
• Northern Colorado recorded a season-high in blocks on Thursday night, with nine. Five different Bears recorded a block against Southern Utah, led by Abby Kain's career high three.

Off on the Right Foot
• UNC is off to its best start in Big Sky play since the 2012-13 season. That year UNC finished 15-5 in Big Sky play and ended up going to the second round of the WNIT. With a win on Saturday it would mark the program's best start in conference play since joining the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season.

Offensive Explosion
• The Bears offense has taken off since Big Sky play began on December 29th. In the three games the lowest point total the team put up was 83 on Thursday night. The team is leading the conference in scoring during Big Sky games with a mark of 89.7 ppg, North Dakota is the next closest team averaging 79.7 ppg.

Cleaning the Glass
• Northern Colorado made the glass look squeaky clean on Thursday night, out-rebounding SUU 44-30. In doing so they grabbed 18 offensive boards. Freshman Bridget Hintz led the team with a career-high eight rebounds, including an impressive six coming on the offensive end. By cleaning the glass so much UNC had 21 second chance points, to SUU's one.

Swiss Army Knife
• Need a job done? Better call Savannah Scott to get it done. She is Northern Colorado's version of a Swiss Army Knife. Whether the team needs scoring, rebounding, good ball movement or good defense, she can do it all. Going into Thursday's game she is tied for first on the team in assists (3.8 apg) and second in scoring and rebounds (13.9 ppg & 5.9 rpg).

• She earned her second Big Sky Player of the Week honor for her strong play last week. Scott averaged a double-double with 17.0 points and 11.0 rebounds, along with 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals. She had a career-high 11 assists in both games.

• Savannah Scott enjoyed her trip back to Northern California scoring a career-high 27 points at Saint Mary's and another 22 points against Pacific. In those games, she also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game to lead the team.

• She also added a 12 point, four assist and four rebound game against Colorado Christian to help her earn Big Sky Player of the Week Honors. It was the first time in Scott's career that she earned the award.

Feed the Beast
• Courtney Smith has become quite the presence in the paint for Northern Colorado. She is averaging 25.3 minutes of play, ranks third on the team in scoring with 12.3 ppg and first in rebounding, grabbing 6.4 rpg.

• Smith recorded her second career double-double against Sacramento State, when she had a career-high 23 points and tied her career-high with 10 rebounds. She was almost perfect shooting on the night, going 10-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

• She had a career game against Colorado Christian, scoring 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting along with a career-high four blocks. She also grabbed eight rebounds and had a steal in the game. That performance helped her be named the College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week.

• Smith has been an efficient scorer, shooting 60.2 percent for the year, ranking her first in the Big Sky and 16th in the NCAA.
Three Headed Monster

• Northern Colorado possesses a three headed monster that is tough to stop from scoring. The trio of Savannah Smith, Savannah Scott and Courtney Smith are all ranked in the Top 20 in the Big Sky in scoring. Smith leads the way with 14.7 points while Scott and Courtney Smith are not far behind with 13.9 and 12.3.

Party Like it's 1998
• Savage Garden was atop the Billboard Top 100, Titanic was sweeping across the nation and the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers were preparing to play in Super Bowl XXXII the last time a Northern Colorado basketball team posted back-to-back 90 point games. That was until last week when the Bears scored 95 against Sacramento State and 91 against Portland State. For the week the team shot 50.0 percent, hitting 17 3-pointers.

Dishing It Out
• Since Kamie Ethridge took over the program in 2014, ball movement and assists have been a big part of the Bears identity. UNC has once again started to move its way to the top of the NCAA rankings in assists and assist to turnover ratio. Northern Colorado is averaging 18.9 assists a game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.24, ranking 11th and 28th in the NCAA, respectively. Both marks rank first in the Big Sky

• In the game against Sacramento State on December 29, the Bears set a program DI record for assists in a game with 33. A third of those assists came from Savannah Scott, who had a career-high 11. Scott and the Bears followed that performance up with another 28 assists against Portland State, with Scott dished out another 11 of them.

• Against Colorado Christian on December 13, UNC had a season-high 25 assists. Eight of the 11 players that played in the game recorded at least one assist and four players had four or more. The Bears also helped its assist-to-turnover ratio with just six turnovers in the game.

Charity Stripe
• Once again this year, UNC is proving you want to avoid fouling them. The team is leading the Big Sky with an 80.8 percent free throw percentage putting them 4th in the nation. Savannah Scott made her first 17 free throws this season, and ranks 31st in the nation with an 86.8 free throw percentage.

Getting Defensive
• The Bears have turned into a tough defensive team, ranking near the top of the conference in scoring defense, defensive field goal percentage and blocks per game. The team ranks third in the Big Sky allowing just 61.6 points a game and second in field goal defense holding opponents to 37.3 percent.

• Northern Colorado's defense shut down SUU in the second half Thursday night. The T-Birds were held to 14.3 percent shooting in the half, making just four baskets. In the fourth quarter UNC kept SUU to just seven points. For the game Southern Utah shot just 29.4 percent.
• During a three game stretch against Colorado Christian, Saint Mary's, and Pacific, UNC has forced a combine 68 turnovers. Twenty three of those game against CCU, 22 against SMC, and 23 more at Pacific. Of those 68, 36 of them have come via steals.

• For the year, UNC has held its opponent below 60 points eight times, and under 50 points three times.

• Against Colorado Christian the team put on a clinic at times, forcing 23 CCU turnovers, making 16 steals and holding the Cougars to 25.5 percent shooting. In the third quarter UNC kept them without a made field goal, and for the second half CCU shot just 9.1 percent.

Bracketology
•The strong play to begin the season has earned UNC some national respect, including by ESPNW's Bracketology. They currently have the Bears as a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, heading to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mid-Major Recognition
• Northern Colorado continues to be ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25, coming in at No. 18 this week. The November 29th poll marked the first time in program history that they had been ranked in the poll. The poll is released every Tuesday afternoon by College Insider.

Strong Non-Conference Play
•Northern Colorado got out to its best start in non-conference play since the 2011-12 season. That year the team also won eight games during the non-conference season. Going into Big Sky Play, UNC has the most wins of any other team in the conference.

Resilient Group
This year's team has been a resilient group. Each time after losing this year they've come back and won their next game. In those games following a loss, the Bears have won by an average margin of 17 points.

#RoadToReno
• The #RoadToReno begins on Thursday, December 29th in the Big Sky. Once again this year all 12 teams will compete in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Reno, Nevada. This year's tournament will take place from March 6-11, and be in conjunction with the men's tournament during March 7-11. All of the men's and women's games will be played inside the Reno Event Center. Tickets are available now at UNCBears.com.

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. She is averaging 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, along with 2.8 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks.

•Williams recorded her first career double-double against Florida Gulf Coast with a 12 point, 12 rebound game. Williams also had a career-high six steals against Saint Mary's.

Class of Kath
• Katie Longwell is the team's lone senior this season. So far in her senior campaign, she has been a valuable sixth man for UNC. She averages a team most 21.0 minutes off the bench. She averages 5.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

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.

• She has started at guard for the team in all of their games, averaging 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals. Against UTSA she had a career-high eight assists.

Centennial State Challenge
• The Bears finished its five-game Centennial State Challenge on Tuesday when they took on Colorado Christian. UNC finished those five games against other Colorado schools with a 3-2 record. They defeated CCU, Air Force and Denver, while falling to Colorado and Colorado State.

Strong Opening Month
• Northern Colorado went 5-1 in the opening month of play this year, matching a program best for wins in November. UNC has won five games in November two other times, 1996 and 1998. Since head coach Kamie Ethridge took over in 2014, the Bears are 13-4 in November.

Clutch City
• UNC has come up clutch when needed so far this year. In games decided by five points or less, the Bears are 4-0. All three of those games were decided by clutch baskets late in the game by Northern Colorado. Savannah Smith has two of those big shots for the team, hitting the go-ahead shot against San Diego with 17 second left on November 20, and then having a 4-point play with 7.3 seconds left to tie and take the lead on Eastern Michigan on November 27.

Riddle Me This
• Northern Colorado's usual starting lineup makes quite the riddle: We start two Savannah's, two Smith's, and two Kiwis. Can you name them?

• Answer: Savannah Smith, Savannah Scott, Courtney Smith, Kianna Williams and Krystal Leger-Walker.

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. Underclassmen have accounted for 61.4 percent of the playing time.

Deep on the Bench
• Northern Colorado has a deep bench it can tap into if needed this season. Through the team's first eight games, the Bears 11 active players have seen action in at least five games this year. The team has been able to play all 11 of its players in five games this year.

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!
• Head coach Kamie Ethridge has plenty of international experience having been on the seven different USA national teams as a player, including the 1988 Olympic Gold winning team. That's not the only international experience she has though, over the past two summers Ethridge has helped coach some of the USA's national teams. She is just one of 48 current NCAA coaches to also coach for the United States.

• This past summer, Ethridge was an assistant coach on the U18 team that went on to win gold at the FIBA Americas in Valdivia, Chile.

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.

New Bear
• UNC inked a new Bear during the early signing period in November, bringing in Tiarna Clarke. Clarke will bring the team's number of international players on the team to two as she comes to UNC from Albany, New Zealand. She is a 5' 7" combo guard who like, Leger-Walker will bring plenty of international experience to the team.

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 return home next week to on the Montana schools. First they host Montana on Thursday night at 7 pm. Defending regular season champion MSU visits the Bank on Saturday, January 14th at 2 pm.

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.