University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Sunday, December 3
Greeley, Colo
2pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Pacific
Photo by: Rob Trubia
Preview: @UNCBearsWBB Looks to Tame the Tigers on Sunday
12/1/2017 2:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNC women's basketball looks to keep its record clean at home when they host Pacific at 2 pm on Sunday
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball hosts its third West Coast Conference team of the season when Pacific visits Bank of Colorado Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bears look to improve upon its 5-2 record when they host the 4-2 Tigers.
Gameday Happenings
It is Sunday Funday at the UNC women's basketball game, and fans can take advantage of it by purchasing tickets online for just $3. Fans can click here and enter the code FUNDAY for the special offer, some fees may apply.
Sunday's game is sponsored by Bank of Colorado, in which they will be giving out beanies before the game to fans. During the contest, one lucky fan will also win a $300 gift card to the UNC Bookstore.
Students can take a break from studying from next week's finals with a study break inside the Champions room starting at 1:15 pm. Rescue dogs from Big Bones Rescue will be at the study break to interact with, along with donuts and bagels from Red's Dogs and Donuts.
For those not in attendance on Sunday, they can keep up with the game on WatchBigSky.com, listening to the audio stream on UNCBears.com, follow live stats on UNCBears.com and by following the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado returned to its winning ways on Thursday, outlasting BYU 79-74 in overtime.
• The Bears are now 3-0 at home this season.
• UNC's Savannahs, Scott and Smith combined for 45 points on Thursday night, including 11 of the team's 16 points in over time.
• Pacific also played on Thursday night, winning at home over Lamar 80-75 to improve to 4-2.
• The Tigers first six games of the year have all come at home this season.
• Pacific is one of the top scoring teams in the nation, with 84.2 points per game to rank 20th in the NCAA.
Last Time Out
Northern Colorado outlasted BYU on Thursday night in overtime 79-74 behind the duo of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. The pair combined for 45 of UNC's points including 11 of the team's 16 points in overtime. The Bears broke out of their shooting slump following the first quarter by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line 25 times. That aggressive play led to 23 points from the charity stripe for the team.
Scouting the Tigers
Pacific improved to 4-2 on the season, defeating Lamar 80-75 on Thursday night.
Pacific has one of the top scoring teams in the nation, averaging 84.2 points per game to lead the West Coast Conference and rank 20th in the nation. Ball movement is key to the plethora of buckets for the Tigers as they are averaging 18.7 assists per game, ranking 25th in the NCAA.
Scoring ability runs deep in the Pacific line up as they have five players averaging double figures. GeAnna Luaulu-Summers leads the way with 16.7 ppg. Brooklyn McDavid is tied for third in scoring with 10.8 points per game while off the bench for the Tigers.
While Pacific is averaging 84.2 ppg, they are also giving up 76.7 ppg with its high-tempo style of play, including allowing opponents to shoot 42.4 percent against them.
Under third-year head coach, Bradley Davis, Pacific was picked to finish eighth in the very competitive WCC.
Last Time Against Pacific
The duo of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith combined for 40 points as UNC closed out its 2016-17 non-conference season with a 60-56 win at Pacific. Both teams struggled to handle the ball well, committing a combined 44 turnovers.
Against the WCC
Northern Colorado has played against seven different teams from the West Coast Conference over its history, going 10-14 in those games. Last season UNC played against three WCC schools going 2-1. Sunday's contest is the second of the season against a WCC, UNC defeated San Francisco (73-60) and BYU (79-74 ot) earlier this year in Greeley.
On This Date
Northern Colorado has competed on December 3rd 11 times in the past, going 6-5 in those games. Five of those six wins have come at home. The last time UNC played on the date was in 2005 vs Gonzaga, falling 69-48.
Scotty's Senior Leadership
Savannah Scott is looked upon as one of the team leaders for UNC, and for good reason both on and off the court. The senior is leading by example on the court, averaging 17.7 points per game and 5.3 rebounds to lead the team in both categories.
Scott is approaching a couple of impressive career marks in 1,000 career points, and 500 rebounds. She enters Sunday's game with 970 points and 424 rebounds. With 30 more points, Scott will become the 20th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 points mark.
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.
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.
Gaining National Respect
Northern Colorado's strong start to the 2017-18 season is receiving respect from around the nation. UNC earned votes for the second time in program history in the November 20th AP Top 25 ending up with three points in the poll. The first time the Bears earned votes in the poll came last January.
The Bears also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25 that was released Tuesday, November 21, ending up with a total of 25 points in it.
UNC currently stands at No. 5 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, released on November 28th. The Bears cracked the top five a week ago when they were ranked No. 3, the highest the program has ever reached in the poll.
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. UNC took the No. 6 spot on the list.
Northern Colorado is ranked No. 2 in ESPN Mid-Major power rankings done by Graham Hays.
Big Time Wins
The Bears have started the season strong, with a pair of big-time wins against DePaul and LSU. 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.
When UNC hosted LSU, it was the first time that the Bears played an SEC opponent. Outside of a Pac 12 team, the win was the first over a power five school.
Northern Colorado added to its list of solid wins, by knocking off BYU at home in overtime 79-74. The Cougars are a constant near the top of the Mid-Major polls every year and often in the NCAA Tournament.
Charity Stripe
Northern Colorado has been one of the top free throw making teams over the past two years shooting 78.2 percent from the free throw line last year and 84.7 percent so far this season. The 84.7 percent mark this year is the best in the nation.
Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott rank in the top 200 in the nation for free throw percentage with Scott at 68th with an 87.2 percentage and Smith at 150th, shooting 81.6 percent.
Free throws have been a key factor in the team's wins this season. When the Bears make more free throws than its opponents they are 5-0 this season. Against 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.
Northern Colorado had another strong free throw performance against BYU going 23-of-25, including Savannah Scott's 10-for-10 performance.
Dominating the Paint
Louisiana State may have had the height advantage on paper, but it was Northern Colorado's Courtney Smith who dominated the paint against the Tigers. She led all scorers with 26 points as LSU looked to slow down the UNC guards giving Smith plenty of room to do work.
On the year, Smith is averaging 14.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
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 47.0 points per game for the team.
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. That is once again the case this year, with Northern Colorado averaging 15.4 assists per game this season. That ranks second in the Big Sky and 98th in the NCAA.
Krystal Leger-Walker leads the team with 4.4 apg and a 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those numbers rank her third and fourth in the Big Sky in both categories and 138th and 81st in the nation, respectively.
Kiwi Does It All
Senior Kianna Williams does a little bit of everything for the Northern Colorado women's basketball team. She is averaging 5.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Williams biggest impact for the team doesn't even make it into her side of the box score but instead locking down the opponents top scorer with her versatility to guard four different positions on the court.
The Opening Month
UNC has a track record of getting out to a strong start to begin its year. The Bears are 93-73 during the month of November, including going 18-6 under head coach Kamie Ethridge. Last season, Northern Colorado went 5-1 during the 11th month of the calendar year.
UNC once again got out to a strong start this season, with a 5-2 record that included wins over DePaul, LSU and BYU.
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.
Bracketology
It's early in the season, but by being picked as the preseason favorites in the Big Sky UNC earned spots in a pair of Bracketologies to begin the year. According to both ESPNW and College Sports Madness coming into the year, they had the Bears as a No. 15 seed. ESPNW had the Bears traveling to Notre Dame and CSM with UNC going to Ohio State.
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.
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.
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 33-12 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.
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.
UNC added in one more new Bear just before the November signing period closed out, with Micayla Isenbart signing with the team. The Stratton, Colorado native adds some size to the Bears roster coming in at 5' 11".
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado closes out its three-game home stand next week when they host in-state rival Colorado State on Sunday, December 10 at 2 pm MT.
Gameday Happenings
It is Sunday Funday at the UNC women's basketball game, and fans can take advantage of it by purchasing tickets online for just $3. Fans can click here and enter the code FUNDAY for the special offer, some fees may apply.
Sunday's game is sponsored by Bank of Colorado, in which they will be giving out beanies before the game to fans. During the contest, one lucky fan will also win a $300 gift card to the UNC Bookstore.
Students can take a break from studying from next week's finals with a study break inside the Champions room starting at 1:15 pm. Rescue dogs from Big Bones Rescue will be at the study break to interact with, along with donuts and bagels from Red's Dogs and Donuts.
For those not in attendance on Sunday, they can keep up with the game on WatchBigSky.com, listening to the audio stream on UNCBears.com, follow live stats on UNCBears.com and by following the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.
Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado returned to its winning ways on Thursday, outlasting BYU 79-74 in overtime.
• The Bears are now 3-0 at home this season.
• UNC's Savannahs, Scott and Smith combined for 45 points on Thursday night, including 11 of the team's 16 points in over time.
• Pacific also played on Thursday night, winning at home over Lamar 80-75 to improve to 4-2.
• The Tigers first six games of the year have all come at home this season.
• Pacific is one of the top scoring teams in the nation, with 84.2 points per game to rank 20th in the NCAA.
Last Time Out
Northern Colorado outlasted BYU on Thursday night in overtime 79-74 behind the duo of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith. The pair combined for 45 of UNC's points including 11 of the team's 16 points in overtime. The Bears broke out of their shooting slump following the first quarter by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line 25 times. That aggressive play led to 23 points from the charity stripe for the team.
Scouting the Tigers
Pacific improved to 4-2 on the season, defeating Lamar 80-75 on Thursday night.
Pacific has one of the top scoring teams in the nation, averaging 84.2 points per game to lead the West Coast Conference and rank 20th in the nation. Ball movement is key to the plethora of buckets for the Tigers as they are averaging 18.7 assists per game, ranking 25th in the NCAA.
Scoring ability runs deep in the Pacific line up as they have five players averaging double figures. GeAnna Luaulu-Summers leads the way with 16.7 ppg. Brooklyn McDavid is tied for third in scoring with 10.8 points per game while off the bench for the Tigers.
While Pacific is averaging 84.2 ppg, they are also giving up 76.7 ppg with its high-tempo style of play, including allowing opponents to shoot 42.4 percent against them.
Under third-year head coach, Bradley Davis, Pacific was picked to finish eighth in the very competitive WCC.
Last Time Against Pacific
The duo of Savannah Scott and Savannah Smith combined for 40 points as UNC closed out its 2016-17 non-conference season with a 60-56 win at Pacific. Both teams struggled to handle the ball well, committing a combined 44 turnovers.
Against the WCC
Northern Colorado has played against seven different teams from the West Coast Conference over its history, going 10-14 in those games. Last season UNC played against three WCC schools going 2-1. Sunday's contest is the second of the season against a WCC, UNC defeated San Francisco (73-60) and BYU (79-74 ot) earlier this year in Greeley.
On This Date
Northern Colorado has competed on December 3rd 11 times in the past, going 6-5 in those games. Five of those six wins have come at home. The last time UNC played on the date was in 2005 vs Gonzaga, falling 69-48.
Scotty's Senior Leadership
Savannah Scott is looked upon as one of the team leaders for UNC, and for good reason both on and off the court. The senior is leading by example on the court, averaging 17.7 points per game and 5.3 rebounds to lead the team in both categories.
Scott is approaching a couple of impressive career marks in 1,000 career points, and 500 rebounds. She enters Sunday's game with 970 points and 424 rebounds. With 30 more points, Scott will become the 20th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 points mark.
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.
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.
Gaining National Respect
Northern Colorado's strong start to the 2017-18 season is receiving respect from around the nation. UNC earned votes for the second time in program history in the November 20th AP Top 25 ending up with three points in the poll. The first time the Bears earned votes in the poll came last January.
The Bears also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25 that was released Tuesday, November 21, ending up with a total of 25 points in it.
UNC currently stands at No. 5 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, released on November 28th. The Bears cracked the top five a week ago when they were ranked No. 3, the highest the program has ever reached in the poll.
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. UNC took the No. 6 spot on the list.
Northern Colorado is ranked No. 2 in ESPN Mid-Major power rankings done by Graham Hays.
Big Time Wins
The Bears have started the season strong, with a pair of big-time wins against DePaul and LSU. 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.
When UNC hosted LSU, it was the first time that the Bears played an SEC opponent. Outside of a Pac 12 team, the win was the first over a power five school.
Northern Colorado added to its list of solid wins, by knocking off BYU at home in overtime 79-74. The Cougars are a constant near the top of the Mid-Major polls every year and often in the NCAA Tournament.
Charity Stripe
Northern Colorado has been one of the top free throw making teams over the past two years shooting 78.2 percent from the free throw line last year and 84.7 percent so far this season. The 84.7 percent mark this year is the best in the nation.
Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott rank in the top 200 in the nation for free throw percentage with Scott at 68th with an 87.2 percentage and Smith at 150th, shooting 81.6 percent.
Free throws have been a key factor in the team's wins this season. When the Bears make more free throws than its opponents they are 5-0 this season. Against 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.
Northern Colorado had another strong free throw performance against BYU going 23-of-25, including Savannah Scott's 10-for-10 performance.
Dominating the Paint
Louisiana State may have had the height advantage on paper, but it was Northern Colorado's Courtney Smith who dominated the paint against the Tigers. She led all scorers with 26 points as LSU looked to slow down the UNC guards giving Smith plenty of room to do work.
On the year, Smith is averaging 14.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
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 47.0 points per game for the team.
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. That is once again the case this year, with Northern Colorado averaging 15.4 assists per game this season. That ranks second in the Big Sky and 98th in the NCAA.
Krystal Leger-Walker leads the team with 4.4 apg and a 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those numbers rank her third and fourth in the Big Sky in both categories and 138th and 81st in the nation, respectively.
Kiwi Does It All
Senior Kianna Williams does a little bit of everything for the Northern Colorado women's basketball team. She is averaging 5.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Williams biggest impact for the team doesn't even make it into her side of the box score but instead locking down the opponents top scorer with her versatility to guard four different positions on the court.
The Opening Month
UNC has a track record of getting out to a strong start to begin its year. The Bears are 93-73 during the month of November, including going 18-6 under head coach Kamie Ethridge. Last season, Northern Colorado went 5-1 during the 11th month of the calendar year.
UNC once again got out to a strong start this season, with a 5-2 record that included wins over DePaul, LSU and BYU.
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.
Bracketology
It's early in the season, but by being picked as the preseason favorites in the Big Sky UNC earned spots in a pair of Bracketologies to begin the year. According to both ESPNW and College Sports Madness coming into the year, they had the Bears as a No. 15 seed. ESPNW had the Bears traveling to Notre Dame and CSM with UNC going to Ohio State.
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.
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.
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 33-12 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.
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.
UNC added in one more new Bear just before the November signing period closed out, with Micayla Isenbart signing with the team. The Stratton, Colorado native adds some size to the Bears roster coming in at 5' 11".
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado closes out its three-game home stand next week when they host in-state rival Colorado State on Sunday, December 10 at 2 pm MT.
Players Mentioned
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