University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Sunday, November 12
Denver, Colo.
1:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
Denver
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Preview: @UNCBearsWBB Welcomes LSU for Home Opener
11/15/2017 9:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Northern Colorado puts its 2-0 record to the test when LSU visits Greeley Wednesday night.
GREELEY, Colo. – After winning their first two games of the season on the road against DePaul and Denver, Northern Colorado women's basketball comes home for its 2017-18 home opener on Wednesday night. The Bears will welcome SEC power LSU to Bank of Colorado Arena at 7 pm MT.
Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado is 2-0 on the year, defeating DePaul and Denver to start the season.
• Senior Savannah Scott earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors by averaging 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
• Redshirt junior Savannah Smith matched her career-high with 29 points in the win over Denver.
• Wednesday night's game against LSU is the 2017-18 home opener for UNC.
• LSU is 1-1, defeating Southeastern Louisiana its last time out, after dropping its season opener at South Florida
• The trip to Greeley is the furthest west LSU will travel this season.
• LSU's Raigyne Louis is coming off a double-double against Southeastern Louisiana with 21 points and 10 assists. Louis is also the SEC's defending Defensive Player of the Year
Last Time Out
The Bears used a gritty effort against Denver to defeat the Pioneers 71-63 and improve to 2-0 on the year. Redshirt junior Savannah Smith led the team's offense, tying a career-high with 29 points, as the rest of UNC's offense struggled throughout the game. After allowing DU to shoot 53.6 percent in the first half, Northern Colorado's defense clamped down in the second holding the Pioneers to 20.7 percent. Senior Savannah Scott scored six straight points with 2:30 remaining in the game to put UNC up for good.
Scouting the Tigers
LSU enters Wednesday night's contest with a 1-1 record, falling to South Florida to open the season 61-55, and then defeating Southeastern Louisiana 84-56. The guard duo of Chole Jackson and Raigyne Louis pace the Tigers with 19.5 and 16.0 points per game, respectively. Louis has been cleaning the boards as well, leading the team with 7.5 rpg. Louisiana State looks to work the ball inside more, as they have struggled from beyond the arc this season shooting just 17.4 percent from 3-point range. Under the leadership of seventh-year head coach Nikki Fargas, LSU was picked to finish seventh in the ultra-competitive SEC this season.
Last Time Against LSU
This is the first-ever meeting against the Tigers. LSU currently has a player on its roster from the Centennial State in Tatum Neubert.
Against the SEC
Wednesday night's game against Louisiana State is the first time in Northern Colorado's program history that they face a team from the SEC.
On This Date
Northern Colorado is 1-1 when playing on November 15. The Bears are 0-1 when playing at home, falling to Wyoming in 2006. The win came against Mesa State in 1996.
Starting Senior Year Right
Savannah Scott started her senior year off on a big note. She led the Bears with a career-high 35 points, along with six rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. Over her 36 minutes played, she hit nine of her 13 shot attempts including four 3-pointers. More impressive was her performance at the free throw line, going a perfect 13-for-13.
Scott continued the strong start to the season with a 16 point performance at Denver. Nine of her 16 points game in the fourth quarter when the Bears needed it the most, including a stretch of scoring six straight points to put the team up for good.
With the big first week of play, Scott earned a pair of weekly honors, being named Big Sky Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week.
Big Time Win
The win over DePaul to open the season was not only a big win for the 2017-18 Bears, but for the program. The 94-88 victory over the No. 20/25 Blue Demons is the first in the program's DI history over a top 25 ranked team.
Mid-Major Polling
Northern Colorado is receiving respect from around the nation, being ranked high in a few mid-major polls. UNC started the season ranked No. 13 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and moved up to No. 6 after one week, garnering one first-place vote.
Not only are the Bears earning respect from the College Insider poll, but Swish Appeal ranked UNC one of the Top 10 Mid-Major teams to watch out for in 2017-18. Northern Colorado took the No. 6 spot on the list.
Northern Colorado is ranked No. 2 in ESPN Mid-Major power rankings done by Graham Hays.
Charity Stripe
Northern Colorado made teams pay for fouling them last season, hitting 78.2 percent of its free throw attempts. That ranked them first in the Big Sky and 10th in the nation.
Savannah Scott led the team in free throw percentage, going 89.7 percent from the line.
The team started right where it left off from last season and it was a key factor in the team's win over DePaul. UNC connected on 33 of its 37 free throw attempts for a percentage of 89.2. Savannah Scott hit 13 of those 33 made free throws, not missing any of her attempts.
Three-Headed Monster
The Bears' three-headed monster of Savannah Scott, Savannah Smith and Courtney Smith is off to a good start this season, averaging a combined 59.5 points per game for the team.
The Opening Month
UNC has a track record of getting out to a strong start to begin its year. The Bears are 90-72 during the month of November, including going 15-4 under head coach Kamie Ethridge. Last season, Northern Colorado went 5-1 during the 11th month of the calendar year.
High Expectations
Expectations are high inside the gym for the 2017-18 UNC women's basketball team both internally and externally. The Bears are the preseason favorites to win the Big Sky this season according to both the conference's media and coaches. Northern Colorado edged out North Dakota in both polls released earlier in October.
Preseason Honors
Redshirt junior Savannah Smith has the eye of opposing coaches coming into this season. Smith earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Sky team. The team is voted on by the conference's coaches. Smith was a big part of the team's success last year leading the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game while averaging 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals. That strong performance earned her first team All-Big Sky honors.
The three ball is a big part of Smith's game, setting the program record for made 3-pointers, with 80. She averaged 2.67 a season to rank third in the Big Sky and 43rd nationally.
Familiar Faces
A big reason for the high expectations for this season's team is due to the fact so many familiar faces return to the court. The Bears return all five of its starters from last season, and 78.5 percent of all its minutes played.
To Be the Best, Play the Best
Head coach Kamie Ethridge and her staff put together a strong and challenging non-conference schedule for their team. It all starts against preseason Top-25 DePaul on November 10 in Chicago. Other highlights of the schedule include the home opener on November 13 against LSU and home dates against BYU, Nov. 30, and Colorado State, Dec. 10. UNC takes on Quinnipiac, who made it to the Sweet 16 in last season's NCAA Tournament on the road as well on Nov. 22.
Welcome Freshman
Northern Colorado welcomes a pair of athletic guards in Tiarna Clarke and Alexis Chapman. Clarke comes to UNC from New Zealand, where she was a teammate of fellow Bear Krystal Leger-Walker on the countries U17 team. Chapman caught the eye of the Bears coaching staff with her dynamic playmaking to bring her to Greeley from Garland, Texas.
With the Assist
Since Kamie Ethridge took over the UNC women's basketball program in 2014, ball moment and assists have been a big part of the Bears identity. Northern Colorado once again finished near the top of the NCAA ranks for assists and assists-to-turnover ratio. The team averaged 18.5 assists a game and recorded a 1.28 assist to turnover ratio, ranking eighth and 16th in the NCAA, respectively. Both marks ranked first in the Big Sky.
Home Sweet Home
The Bears enjoyed playing on their home court last season, going 11-3 inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The strong home record included a 10-game win streak on home court. Under Coach E, UNC is 29-12 when playing in Greeley.
Feeling 22!
Northern Colorado felt 22 during the 2016-17 season tying the school's win record for a single season. The 22 wins tied with the 2014-15 team that went on to the third round of the WNIT that season.
Rewriting the Record Book
UNC's successful 2016-17 season saw a few records go down in the program's record book.
- The team set a program best for free throw percentage shooting 78.2 percent from the charity stripe. Savannah Scott broke the school's DI record individually, with a percentage of 89.7.
- The 70.70 points scored a game were a new DI program record.
- UNC passed the ball well, setting a new DI team record with 556 assists. That included a game against Sacramento State, which saw the Bears record 33 assists for the most in a single game.
- Opponent's nets were not safe from UNC's shooting from beyond the arc last season as they hit a program record by making 233 3-pointers last season. Eighty of those 223 belonged to Savannah Smith who also set the individual mark for a single-season
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 three 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.
New Bear Cubs
The Northern Colorado women's basketball program welcomed a pair of new players to its 2018 recruiting class on Nov. 8, when Grace Vaofusi and Michaela Jones signed their National Letter of Intent to join the program. Both are athletic and versatile 5'9' guards that can play a variety of positions for UNC. Vaofusi comes to UNC from Wellington, New Zealand bringing the team's Kiwi count up to three, while Jones is from Wymore, Nebraska.
What's Ahead?
The Bears stay at home over the weekend, when they host San Francisco on Sunday, November 19 at 2 pm. It is the first game between UNC and USF since 2011.
Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado is 2-0 on the year, defeating DePaul and Denver to start the season.
• Senior Savannah Scott earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors by averaging 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
• Redshirt junior Savannah Smith matched her career-high with 29 points in the win over Denver.
• Wednesday night's game against LSU is the 2017-18 home opener for UNC.
• LSU is 1-1, defeating Southeastern Louisiana its last time out, after dropping its season opener at South Florida
• The trip to Greeley is the furthest west LSU will travel this season.
• LSU's Raigyne Louis is coming off a double-double against Southeastern Louisiana with 21 points and 10 assists. Louis is also the SEC's defending Defensive Player of the Year
Last Time Out
The Bears used a gritty effort against Denver to defeat the Pioneers 71-63 and improve to 2-0 on the year. Redshirt junior Savannah Smith led the team's offense, tying a career-high with 29 points, as the rest of UNC's offense struggled throughout the game. After allowing DU to shoot 53.6 percent in the first half, Northern Colorado's defense clamped down in the second holding the Pioneers to 20.7 percent. Senior Savannah Scott scored six straight points with 2:30 remaining in the game to put UNC up for good.
Scouting the Tigers
LSU enters Wednesday night's contest with a 1-1 record, falling to South Florida to open the season 61-55, and then defeating Southeastern Louisiana 84-56. The guard duo of Chole Jackson and Raigyne Louis pace the Tigers with 19.5 and 16.0 points per game, respectively. Louis has been cleaning the boards as well, leading the team with 7.5 rpg. Louisiana State looks to work the ball inside more, as they have struggled from beyond the arc this season shooting just 17.4 percent from 3-point range. Under the leadership of seventh-year head coach Nikki Fargas, LSU was picked to finish seventh in the ultra-competitive SEC this season.
Last Time Against LSU
This is the first-ever meeting against the Tigers. LSU currently has a player on its roster from the Centennial State in Tatum Neubert.
Against the SEC
Wednesday night's game against Louisiana State is the first time in Northern Colorado's program history that they face a team from the SEC.
On This Date
Northern Colorado is 1-1 when playing on November 15. The Bears are 0-1 when playing at home, falling to Wyoming in 2006. The win came against Mesa State in 1996.
Starting Senior Year Right
Savannah Scott started her senior year off on a big note. She led the Bears with a career-high 35 points, along with six rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. Over her 36 minutes played, she hit nine of her 13 shot attempts including four 3-pointers. More impressive was her performance at the free throw line, going a perfect 13-for-13.
Scott continued the strong start to the season with a 16 point performance at Denver. Nine of her 16 points game in the fourth quarter when the Bears needed it the most, including a stretch of scoring six straight points to put the team up for good.
With the big first week of play, Scott earned a pair of weekly honors, being named Big Sky Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week.
Big Time Win
The win over DePaul to open the season was not only a big win for the 2017-18 Bears, but for the program. The 94-88 victory over the No. 20/25 Blue Demons is the first in the program's DI history over a top 25 ranked team.
Mid-Major Polling
Northern Colorado is receiving respect from around the nation, being ranked high in a few mid-major polls. UNC started the season ranked No. 13 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and moved up to No. 6 after one week, garnering one first-place vote.
Not only are the Bears earning respect from the College Insider poll, but Swish Appeal ranked UNC one of the Top 10 Mid-Major teams to watch out for in 2017-18. Northern Colorado took the No. 6 spot on the list.
Northern Colorado is ranked No. 2 in ESPN Mid-Major power rankings done by Graham Hays.
Charity Stripe
Northern Colorado made teams pay for fouling them last season, hitting 78.2 percent of its free throw attempts. That ranked them first in the Big Sky and 10th in the nation.
Savannah Scott led the team in free throw percentage, going 89.7 percent from the line.
The team started right where it left off from last season and it was a key factor in the team's win over DePaul. UNC connected on 33 of its 37 free throw attempts for a percentage of 89.2. Savannah Scott hit 13 of those 33 made free throws, not missing any of her attempts.
Three-Headed Monster
The Bears' three-headed monster of Savannah Scott, Savannah Smith and Courtney Smith is off to a good start this season, averaging a combined 59.5 points per game for the team.
The Opening Month
UNC has a track record of getting out to a strong start to begin its year. The Bears are 90-72 during the month of November, including going 15-4 under head coach Kamie Ethridge. Last season, Northern Colorado went 5-1 during the 11th month of the calendar year.
High Expectations
Expectations are high inside the gym for the 2017-18 UNC women's basketball team both internally and externally. The Bears are the preseason favorites to win the Big Sky this season according to both the conference's media and coaches. Northern Colorado edged out North Dakota in both polls released earlier in October.
Preseason Honors
Redshirt junior Savannah Smith has the eye of opposing coaches coming into this season. Smith earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Sky team. The team is voted on by the conference's coaches. Smith was a big part of the team's success last year leading the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game while averaging 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals. That strong performance earned her first team All-Big Sky honors.
The three ball is a big part of Smith's game, setting the program record for made 3-pointers, with 80. She averaged 2.67 a season to rank third in the Big Sky and 43rd nationally.
Familiar Faces
A big reason for the high expectations for this season's team is due to the fact so many familiar faces return to the court. The Bears return all five of its starters from last season, and 78.5 percent of all its minutes played.
To Be the Best, Play the Best
Head coach Kamie Ethridge and her staff put together a strong and challenging non-conference schedule for their team. It all starts against preseason Top-25 DePaul on November 10 in Chicago. Other highlights of the schedule include the home opener on November 13 against LSU and home dates against BYU, Nov. 30, and Colorado State, Dec. 10. UNC takes on Quinnipiac, who made it to the Sweet 16 in last season's NCAA Tournament on the road as well on Nov. 22.
Welcome Freshman
Northern Colorado welcomes a pair of athletic guards in Tiarna Clarke and Alexis Chapman. Clarke comes to UNC from New Zealand, where she was a teammate of fellow Bear Krystal Leger-Walker on the countries U17 team. Chapman caught the eye of the Bears coaching staff with her dynamic playmaking to bring her to Greeley from Garland, Texas.
With the Assist
Since Kamie Ethridge took over the UNC women's basketball program in 2014, ball moment and assists have been a big part of the Bears identity. Northern Colorado once again finished near the top of the NCAA ranks for assists and assists-to-turnover ratio. The team averaged 18.5 assists a game and recorded a 1.28 assist to turnover ratio, ranking eighth and 16th in the NCAA, respectively. Both marks ranked first in the Big Sky.
Home Sweet Home
The Bears enjoyed playing on their home court last season, going 11-3 inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The strong home record included a 10-game win streak on home court. Under Coach E, UNC is 29-12 when playing in Greeley.
Feeling 22!
Northern Colorado felt 22 during the 2016-17 season tying the school's win record for a single season. The 22 wins tied with the 2014-15 team that went on to the third round of the WNIT that season.
Rewriting the Record Book
UNC's successful 2016-17 season saw a few records go down in the program's record book.
- The team set a program best for free throw percentage shooting 78.2 percent from the charity stripe. Savannah Scott broke the school's DI record individually, with a percentage of 89.7.
- The 70.70 points scored a game were a new DI program record.
- UNC passed the ball well, setting a new DI team record with 556 assists. That included a game against Sacramento State, which saw the Bears record 33 assists for the most in a single game.
- Opponent's nets were not safe from UNC's shooting from beyond the arc last season as they hit a program record by making 233 3-pointers last season. Eighty of those 223 belonged to Savannah Smith who also set the individual mark for a single-season
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 three 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.
New Bear Cubs
The Northern Colorado women's basketball program welcomed a pair of new players to its 2018 recruiting class on Nov. 8, when Grace Vaofusi and Michaela Jones signed their National Letter of Intent to join the program. Both are athletic and versatile 5'9' guards that can play a variety of positions for UNC. Vaofusi comes to UNC from Wellington, New Zealand bringing the team's Kiwi count up to three, while Jones is from Wymore, Nebraska.
What's Ahead?
The Bears stay at home over the weekend, when they host San Francisco on Sunday, November 19 at 2 pm. It is the first game between UNC and USF since 2011.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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