@UNCBearsWBB Prepared for Big Sky Blockbuster Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, February 4

Greeley, Colo.

12 pm

University of Northern Colorado

North Dakota

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2/2/2017 2:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

UNC women's basketball prepares to take on second place North Dakota Saturday at noon.

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – The calendar may of just turned to February, but Saturday at high-noon it will feel like March inside Bank of Colorado Arena. It will be a Big Sky Blockbuster between the first place Northern Colorado Bears (18-3, 10-0 Big Sky) and second place North Dakota Fighting Hawks (14-7, 9-1 Big Sky).

Game Links: Gameday Central | Northern Colorado Notes | North Dakota | Big Sky

The Matchup
Northern Colorado and North Dakota are the top two teams in the Big Sky entering the game, separated by just one game.

UNC is on an 11-game win streak and 10-0 in Big Sky play, while UND is on a five-game win streak and 9-1 in conference.

The mark difference between the two teams is an at home overtime loss to Montana State by North Dakota.

Gameday Happenings
Saturday's game is the team's annual Play 4 Kay game. The Bears will be helping raise awareness for breast cancer in the memory of longtime great women's basketball coach Kay Yow. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for the game, and can donate now on behalf of the Bears by clicking here.

The team will also be signing autographs following the game for all fans.

Scouting the Fighting Hawks
Outside of Northern Colorado, UND is the hottest team in the Big Sky having won 10 of its last 11 games. The lone loss in that span came at home in overtime against Montana State.

Senior Makailah Dyer leads the Fighting Hawks averaging 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game. She is joined by three other teammates averaging double figures scoring this year. Those three are Lexi Klabo (12.4), Fallyn Freije (10.4) and Samantha Roscoe (10.3).

North Dakota hits the boards hard, outrebounding its opponents by 4.3 boards a game to rank third in the conference. Lexi Klabo is the team's leading rebounder grabbing 8.2 a game, raking second in the Big Sky.

Coming into the season, was picked to finish second by the coaches, and fifth by the media.

Last Time Against North Dakota
Kourtney Zadina put Northern Colorado up 58-57 with six seconds left off a made 3-pointer, but UND drove hard to the basket and was fouled with a second left to squeak past UNC 59-58.

The Bears used a 13-2 run over the final three minutes to earn that one point lead before seeing the game slip away at the free throw line.

Savannah Scott led the team with 17 points including going 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Leah Szabla scored 16 points to lead UND in the win.

Last Time Out
• After a sluggish first quarter, UNC went on a 17-0 run led by Katie Longwell's three 3-pointers to take the lead and put away Southern Utah. The Bears offense shot 53.6 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from beyond the arc in the 74-55 win. Savannah Smith lead the team is scoring with 22 points.

Against the Big Sky
• UNC joined the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season and have gone 102-91 since then. All-time against Big Sky schools, the Bears are 114-129.

On This Date
• UNC has struggled at times during the month of February, holding a 149-167 record all-time in the month. The program has some recent positive history in February recently though, going 7-1 during it in two of the past four years.

Month of February
• Northern Colorado will look to stay above the .500 mark all-time in the month of January this season. The team is 184-180 in the month. Under head coach Kamie Ethridge, the team is 16-10.

Off on the Right Foot
• UNC is off to its best start in conference play in program history. The 10-0 record topped the previous best of 7-0 by the 1997-98 team in the NCC.

• Through 21 games played, the team has the best record in program history. The previous was 17-4 by the 1997-98 team.

Home Swwwwwwwwwweet Home
• Since dropping its first game of the season inside Bank of Colorado Arena, the Bears have won 10 straight. That ties for the seventh longest streak in program history. The longest is 16 that expanded the 1996-97 season into the 1997-98.

Streaks Part II
• For the second time this season, UNC is on a winning streak that expands five games or more. The Bears went on a five-game win streak during the non-conference season, and are currently on an 11-game streak. Northern Colorado will look to set a new program record for consecutive wins on Saturday with 12. They 1997-98 team for the record of 11 straight wins.

Oh So Savvy
• Savannah Smith has had a strong season for the team, with her stat line reading, 16.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.9 spg. She leads the team in scoring.

• Smith has scored at least 20 points over the past four games, averaging 23.5 points in that span, hitting 5.25 3-pointers a game during that span. Against Idaho State, she hit six treys to tie the school's DI record for made threes, and tied that mark against Southern Utah with another six.

• 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 18 of the team's 20 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.

Feed the Beast
• Courtney Smith has become quite the presence in the paint for Northern Colorado. She is averaging 25.1 minutes of play, ranks third on the team in scoring with 13.2 ppg and first in rebounding, grabbing 5.6 rpg.

• Smith had a two game stretch recently when she shot 23-for-27 (85.2%) and averaged 26.0 points. She scored a career-high 28 points last Thursday night against NAU, with 16 of those points coming in the third quarter.

• Smith recorded her second career double-double against Sacramento State, when she had 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 61.2 percent for the year, ranking her first in the Big Sky and 13th in the NCAA.

Scorching the Nets
• The Bears have been tearing down the nets recently shooting 53.5 percent in the past four games. That includes going 54.1 percent from downtown.

• Against Idaho State, Northern Colorado hit a season-high 14 3-pointers. It was two off the program's DI record and four off the overall. They matched that mark at home against Southern Utah.

• The basket looked twice as big for the Bears at Weber State, where the team shot 61.1 percent. Courtney Smith led that charge for the team hitting 11 of her 12 attempts.

Poll Recognition
• Northern Colorado had a couple of firsts this week when it came to polls. On Monday, UNC earned a vote in this week's AP Top 25 poll. They followed it up by cracking the Top 10 of the Mid-Major Top 25 the next day, coming in at No. 9. The November 29th poll marked the first time in program history that they had been ranked in the Mid-Major poll.

Everyday Threes
• For Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott it have become habit to make a least one 3-pointer a game. Scott enters Saturday with an 18-game streak of making at least one three per game. If she hits one in the game vs UND she will have the second longest streak in program history. Savannah Smith isn't far behind, with a streak currently at 13. Earlier this year she saw her streak of 10, including three games from last year snapped.

Getting Defensive
• The Bears have turned into a tough defensive team, ranking near the top of the conference in scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage. The team ranks second in the Big Sky allowing just 61.5 points a game and third in field goal defense holding opponents to 37.7 percent.

• Against the Montana schools, the team forced 49 turnovers. Against MSU, the Bears ended up forcing the Bobcats into 28 turnovers, 11 via steals. It was the seventh time this season UNC forced its opponent into 20 or more turnovers.

• Northern Colorado's defense shut down SUU in the second half on January 5th. 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 10 times, and under 50 points four 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.

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 16.1 points while Scott and Courtney Smith are not far behind with 13.8 and 13.2.

Big Sky Offense
• Since Big Sky play began in the last week of 2016, UNC has put one of the best offenses on the court. The team is averaging 78.3 points per game to rank second in the conference, along with being second in field goal percentage at 47.9 and first in 3-point FG percentage at 43.4. Ball movement has been a big part of the success averaging 21.4 assists per game, and leading the Big Sky with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, along with 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals.

• Against Montana State, Williams had a strong game with 10 rebounds, eight points and three steals, but it was not in the box score that made the big impact. Her defense on one of the best players in the Big Sky was key in the win. She held Montana State's Peyton Ferris to just 14 points after she was averaging 28.0 points per game in the past three.

•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.

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 19.0 assists a game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.25, ranking eighth and 22nd in the NCAA, respectively. Both marks rank first in the Big Sky

• Since Big Sky play began, the Bears are averaging 21.6 assists per game. That's almost four more a game than the nearest team.

• 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.

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. Coming into this week's games she is second on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounds (5.6 rpg) and assists (3.7 apg) and minutes played at 30.2.

• She earned her second Big Sky Player of the Week honor for her strong play during the first week of conference season. 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.

Bracketology
• According to both ESPNW and College Sports Madness, the Bears would be heading to play a PAC 12 school in the NCAA Tournament. In ESPNW's Northern Colorado is set as a No. 15 seed heading to Corvallis, Oregon to play Oregon State. In the CSM one, UNC will play Stanford, as a No. 14 seed.

Charity Stripe
• Once again this year, UNC is proving you want to avoid fouling them. The team is leading the Big Sky with an 77.7 percent free throw percentage putting them 15th in the nation. Savannah Scott made her first 17 free throws this season, and ranks 33rd in the nation with an 86.8 free throw percentage.

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 20.7 minutes off the bench. She averages 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

• She sparked the team after a slow start against Southern Utah at home, hitting a trip of 3-pointers during a 17-0 UNC run.

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 5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals. Against Montana she matched her career-high eight assists that she previously had against UTSA.

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.

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.

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 the week of December 26-January 2 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.

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 throughout the year. In games decided by five points or less, the Bears are 5-0. Savannah Smith has two of the game-winning 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.

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 nine 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.

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?
• It's back on the road for UNC next week as they head to the Pacific Northwest for pair a of games. The first next Thursday at defending Big Sky Tournament champion Idaho, and then taking on Eastern Washington on Saturday.

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.