Preview: @UNCBearsWBB Closes Road Trip at North Dakota

Saturday, January 20

Grand Forks, N.D.

1:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

North Dakota

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

1/18/2018 4:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Northern Colorado Notes North Dakota Notes Big Sky Notes

UNC women's basketball looks to close its road trip out with a winning record as they face North Dakota Saturday

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – The Northern Colorado women's basketball team closes out its three-game road trip Saturday afternoon against the University of North Dakota. Tipoff between UNC and UND is set for 1 pm MT inside the Betty Englestad Center.

Fans can watch the game on Pluto TV channel 241 or through WatchBigSky.com. Live stats can also be found through UNCBears.com and the team's Twitter page will be providing updates throughout the game at @UNCBearsWBB.

Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado got back to its winning ways last time out, defeating Idaho State 63-57.
• The Bears shot an impressive 46.8 percent from the field against the stingy ISU defense.
• UNC is tied for first in the Big Sky with Montana at 5-1. The Bears hold the tie-breaker over UM based on the head-to-head matchup from January 6.
• North Dakota has struggled in Big Sky play, coming in with a 1-5 record including dropping both on the Weber State, Idaho State road trip.
• UND's lone Big Sky win came at home against Montana State by the score of 79-70
•This is the last year the Fighting Hawks will be in the Big Sky Conference. They are moving to the more geographically friendly Summit League starting next year.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado got back to its winning ways by closing out quarters strong and the Savannahs putting the team on their back. Savannah Smith and Scott combined for 34 points in UNC's 63-57 victory, 28 of them coming n the second half. The Bears also closed out each quarter with runs of 14-2, 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0.

Scouting The Fighting Hawks
North Dakota came into the season as the team most likely to challenge Northern Colorado for the Big Sky title in 2017-18, but have struggled to live up to that billing through the first three weeks of conference play. The Fighting Hawks are currently in last place by half a game, with a 1-5 record. UND's lone win came against Montana State at home, 79-70.

The Fighting Hawks have four players averaging either over or close to 10.0 points per game, but after that production falls off offensively from the remainder of the team as only one other player averages over 5.0 points a game.

Lexi Klabo leads the team with 17.8 ppg and also is the team's leading rebounder with 8.8 boards a contest. Teammate Fallyn Freije is scoring 13.9 points per game on the season, while Melissa Dailey and Jill Morton are just below the 10.0 mark at 9.8 and 9.7, respectively.

UND usually holds the size advantage against its opponents inside and it shows as they are outrebounding them by a margin of 6.1 a game. While the Fighting Hawks are outrebounding its opponents, they have a -2.2 turnover margin.

Last Time Against North Dakota
North Dakota took advantage of Northern Colorado shooting woes to defeat the Bears 75-68 in Grand Forks. UNC shot 35.8 percent from the field, while UND went 43.9 percent in shooting. Makailah Dyer led the way for the Fighting Hawks with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Katie Longwell tried to provide a spark off the bench for UNC, but her 18 points just were not enough for a comeback.

Against the Big Sky
UNC joined the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season and has gone 111-97. Overall, the team is 123-135 against Big Sky Schools.

Closing in on 600
The Northern Colorado women's basketball program is closing in on a big number, that being 600 wins. The next time UNC wins a game will be the program's 600th overall.

On This Date
UNC looks to go above .500 when playing on January 20th on Saturday. The team is an even 5-5 on the date, 0-2 on the road. The last time the team played on the date wast in 2011 when Sacramento State came to town and fell to the Bears 91-59.

Scotty's Senior Leadership
Savannah Scott joined a special group of in UNC women's basketball history on December 19 when she joined the 1,000 points scored club. Scott became the 20th player in Bears basketball history to do so. She currently sits at 1,148 points for 12th all-time. The next player Scott can pass on the list is Lou Piel and her 1,260 points for 11th.

It's no surprise that Scott joined the special club, as she is one of the leaders of this UNC team. Scott is currently averaging 17.8 points to lead the team, along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists, both third best on the team. She has scored 20 plus points seven times this season. She is averaging 17.0 points 5.3 rebounds in Big Sky play.

Scott earned MVP of the Roo Holiday Classic by averaging 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 66.7 percent shooting.

She earned her second Big Sky Player of the Week honor and the College Sports Madness Mid-Major and Big Sky Player of the Week award for her performances against BYU and Pacific. Scott, averaged 23.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the two games. She shot an impressive 68.4 percent from the field including hitting five of her seven 3-point attempts and making all 16 of her free throws.

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.

Oh So Savvy
Savannah Smith impacts the game in a multitude of ways for UNC, with her scoring ability leading to open teammates and finding them, along with her quickness on defense to swipe away the ball from opponents.

Smith is averaging 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game this season. Coming into the week, she has scored 980 career points and looks to surpass the 1,000 points mark later this season. She will become the 21st member of the 1,000 points club in UNC history when she does so.

She scored a career-high 32 points against Montana State on January 4, shooting 10-of-22 from the field including knocking down six 3-pointers. She was also perfect from the free throw line making all six of her attempts. Fifteen of those 32 came in the fourth quarter to help put the game away for UNC.

Smith has been playing well during the early part of the Big Sky season, averaging 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.2 assists.

During the first week of conference play, she earned College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week by averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.0 assists. Not noted on the stat line were the hockey-like, second assists that Smith had against Eastern Washington and Idaho.

Kiwi Does it All
Senior Kianna Williams does a little bit of everything for the Northern Colorado women's basketball team. She is averaging 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. She is leading the team with those 5.5 rebounds. 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.

She is currently on a five-game streak scoring at least 10 points a game.

Williams packed the stat sheet at Weber State when she recorded a career-high in steals with eight, to go with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

She recorded her second career double-double on Thursday against Montana State with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Six of her 11 rebounds came on the offensive end.

Williams hit some key shots for the Bears against Idaho including draining a pair of 3's late to secure the win for the team. The Vandals challenged Kiwi to beat them, and she did just that scoring 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting while dishing out four assists and coming up with four steals.

With teammate Savannah Smith out against UMKC, Williams helped step up for UNC on the offensive end. She ended up finishing the game with 17 points hitting a pair of 3s and making all six of her free throws. Williams also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists. She joined teammates Savannah Scott and Courtney Smith on the All-Tournament team for the Roo Holiday Classic.

Charity Stripe
The free throw line should be automatic points for a team, and that is definitely the case for Northern Colorado. The Bears are second in all of NCAA Division I with an 83.3 free throw percentage. The team has hit 235 of its 282 free throw attempts. Savannah Scott leads the team with a 90.7 percentage from the charity stripe, ranking first in the Big Sky and seventh in the NCAA.

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
Courtney Smith is a big presences in the paint for UNC to offset the guard duo of Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott. Smith is averaging 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds a game while leading the team in field goal percentage at 55.1 percent. Smith's shots are not just close to the basket, but she can step away from the paint and knock down plenty of jumpers too.

After facing foul trouble in the first half against UMKC, Smith scored 17 points in the second half on her way to a game-high 24 points. She shot 10-13 from the field in the game and also grabbed eight rebounds. She went on to earn All-Tournament honors by averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on 72.7 percent shooting.

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.

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 45.4points 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 15.6 assists per game this season. That ranks third in the Big Sky and 70th in the NCAA.

Krystal Leger-Walker leads the team with 4.4 apg and a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those numbers rank her fourth and sixth in the Big Sky in both categories and 109th and 175th in the nation, respectively.

Leger-Walker put together her first career double-digit assist game against Colorado State when she had 10 of the teams 17 assists in the game. The 10 assists were two shy of the program's DI record of 12 by Courtney Stoermer.

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. 20 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, released on January 16th. The Bears cracked the top five earlier in the season 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.

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.

Step into the Light
Freshman Tiarna Clarke earned her first career start against UMKC with Savannah Smith out with an injury. Clarke didn't play like a freshman seeing the extended minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting including hitting a trio of 3-pointers. She also passed out a career-best six assists while playing all 40 minutes.

Clarke has become the team's sixth man, averaging 20.2 minutes off the bench leading to 5.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists a game.

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.

Bracketology
The Bears continue to show up in a pair of Bracketologies this season done by ESPNW and College Sports Madness. According to both ESPNW, the Bears are currently projected to be a No. 11 seed come March. UNC would head out to Hollywood to face Rutgers in the first round with the winner to most likely face UCLA. CSM has Northern Colorado a little further down the seed line at No. 15 and facing second-seeded Louisville in the first round.

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.

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 33-13 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 finally returns home next week when they host Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Bears first host the Vandals on January 25 at 7 pm. UNC and UI met earlier this season with the Bears earning a 78-72 comeback win.