Preview: @UNCBearsWBB Begins Homestand Hosting North Dakota Saturday

Saturday, February 24

Greeley, Colo

2pm

University of Northern Colorado

North Dakota

Tickets

Photo by: Woody Myers

2/21/2018 7:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Northern Colorado Notes North Dakota Notes

Northern Colorado women's basketball begins three-game homestand against North Dakota Saturday

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado women's basketball closes out its regular season schedule with a three-game homestand beginning on Saturday against North Dakota at 2 pm. The Bears (20-6, 12-3 Big Sky) look to keep its seven-game win streak going while ending a five-game losing streak to the Fighting Hawks (12-14, 5-10 Big Sky).

Fans can purchase tickets for the game at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by visiting the UNC Box Office from 10-5 pm or by calling 970-351-4849. If you are unable to attend the game can watch the broadcast on Pluto TV channel 241 and WatchBigSky.com. An audio stream of the game along live stats can be found on UNCBears.com. The team's Twitter account, @UNCBearsWBB will have updates throughout.

Gameday Happenings
Saturday is Alumni Day! Northern Colorado women's basketball will be welcoming its alums at the game with a special weekend scheduled for them. All UNC alumni are invited to the game and can purchase special online-only tickets for $5 plus fees with the code ALUMNI18.

Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado comes into Saturday's game on a seven-game win streak after beating Southern Utah 85-63 last Saturday.
• UNC's defense was key in the win over SUU, holding them to 32.2 percent shooting in the game.
• Following her big game at Northern Arizona, Tiarna Clark reset her career-high with 20 points against SUU. She shot an impressive 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 beyond the arc.
• Savannah Smith turned in another 20 point performance against the Thunderbirds scoring a game-high 22 while adding in five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• North Dakota is coming off of a 79-59 loss to Northern Arizona its last time out.
• The Fighting Hawks are currently 5-10 in the Big Sky and 12-14 overall.
• Northern Colorado looks to end a five-game losing streak against UND, including a 78-70 loss in Grand Forks earlier this year.

Last Time Out
It wasn't the team's cleanest game, but UNC came away with a 60-54 win over Southern Utah to end its road portion of the schedule for 2017-18. Tiarna Clarke scored the team's first eight points and hit a pair of key 3s on her way to a career-high 20 points, while teammate Savannah Smith added 22 of her own in the win.

Scouting The Fighting Hawks
North Dakota has had an up and down season, performing well during the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-4 record, including a close loss to Oregon State. The Fighting Hawks have struggled in Big Sky play though, currently sitting at 5-10, bringing their overall record at 12-14.

UND split its games last weekend winning at Southern Utah by 15 before losing to NAU by 20. Coming into the week, North Dakota is ranked ninth in the Big Sky and three games behind Montana and Montana State who are tied for seventh.

Offensively, the team has three players averaging double figures scoring in Lex Klabo (18.1), Fallyn Freije (14.0) and Jill Morton (11.0). The trio is averaging 17.1, 14.4 and 12.2, respectively in Big Sky play.

The duo of Klabo and Freije clean the glass for the Fighting Hawks averaging 9.1 and 8.2 rebounds a game each. Klabo recorded 17 rebounds against the Bears in Grand Forks earlier this season.

North Dakota has been missing the presences of Freije recently as she has been out the past three games with an ankle injury and is expected to be out until the Big Sky Tournament.

North Dakota won the first meeting between the teams earlier this season by defending its home court 78-70. The Bears held a 14-point halftime lead before UND had a strong third quarter to storm back for the win.

Against the Big Sky
UNC joined the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season and has gone 118-99. Overall, the team is 130-137 against Big Sky Schools.

On This Date
Northern Colorado has not played on February 24 since 2007 when Montana came to Greeley and won 74-56. The Bears are 5-6 on the date including an even 3-3 at home.

Eye on the Big Sky
The Bears come into the week with a half-game lead over Idaho for first place in the Big Sky. UI hosts Idaho State Thursday night, with a chance to tie UNC or move a full game behind them. That game has multiple impacts for Northern Colorado, with an ISU loss, the Bears will clinch a bye in the Big Sky Tournament. A win on Saturday can also do the same for UNC.

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 1,256 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 17.1 points to rank second on the team, along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists, for second and third best on the team, respectively. She has scored 20 plus points nine times this season. Scott is averaging 16.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in Big Sky play.

She recorded her first double-double of the season against Weber State with 19 points and 10 points. It was the sixth of her career.

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 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game this season. She became the 21st member of the 1,000 points club at UNC on January 20. Smith, joins teammate Savannah Scott in the club. The last time two Bears joined the 1,000 points club in the same season was in 2014-15 when D'shara Strange and Stephanie Lee did so. Smith currently has 1,170 career points, for 12th all-time.

Smith has picked up her play during Big Sky play, averaging 20.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals.

In the past nine games, she has hit the 20 point mark seven times. For the season, she has scored 30 or more once, 20 or more 10 times and in double figures 21.

Smith capped off the team's 15 point comeback against Weber State in a pivotal Big Sky game but hitting the game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds left in the 71-69 victory.

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.

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 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She is leading the team with those 5.8 rebounds. Williams biggest impact for the team doesn't even make it into her side of the box score but instead locking down the opponent's top scorer with her versatility to guard four different positions on the court.
Since the beginning of the Big Sky season, Williams' scoring output has increased to 7.9 ppg.

At Montana State, Kiwi recorded her second double-double of the season and third of her career. Williams hit some tough shots as the shot clock expired for 12 points and cleaned the glass with 10 rebounds. Her other double-double came against MSU this season as well.

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 January 4 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 on the All-Tournament team for the Roo Holiday Classic.

Step into the Light
Clarke has become the team's sixth man, averaging 19.3 minutes off the bench leading to 6.1 points and 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists a game and has stepped into the starting line up for both Savannah Smith and Savannah Scott this season due to injuries. Clarke has performed well in those situations.

Following her big performance against NAU, Clarke reset her career-high against Southern Utah with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting including four 3-pointers. Clarke scored the first eight points for UNC and nailed a pair of late 3s to help lead the Bears to the win.

Against Northern Arizona, Clarke scored 11 points in the first quarter and 16 in the first half on her way to a career-high 19 points. The 3-pointer was falling for Clarke in the game as she shot 4-of-7 from downtown.

She 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.

Making Most of an Opportunity
Sophomore center Bridget Hintz is making the most of her opportunity put in front of her a few weeks back. Now in an expanded role for the team, Hintz showed she can't just be forgotten about.

In the past seven games, she is averaging 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 24.1 minutes played.

Hintz had a big third quarter at Southern Utah, scoring six of her 10 points during it. She shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and sank both her free throw attempts.

Against Idaho and Eastern Washington, She averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds over 34.0 minutes per game.

Hintz scored a career-high 12 points vs EWU on 4-of-6 shooting and connecting on 4 of her 5 free throw attempts.

Spark off the Bench
With the mainstays in foul trouble and struggling offensively in the first half against Montana, Northern Colorado needed help from somewhere else. That came in form of Abby Kain and Kirsten Kramer. The duo combined for eight of the team's 10 points in the second quarter to keep the UM lead to just four at the half.

For the game, the duo combined for 14 points and six rebounds over 28 minutes played. Kain had eight of those points and all of the rebounds over 24 minutes. For Kramer it was her first action of the 2017-18 season, draining a pair of long balls in her only two shots taken.

Kain has carried the momentum from that Montana game with her over the past six games. She is playing an average of 16.2 minutes while scoring 4.0 ppg and grabbing 3.2 rpg. Those 4.0 points have come on an impressive 57.1 percent shooting.

Kramer provided another spark off the bench against Northern Arizona when she hit on three 3-pointers and tied her career-high in scoring with 11 points.

Gaining Confidence
Freshman Alexis Chapman is one of the most athletic players on Northern Colorado's roster, and her confidence and understanding of the team's offense are turning into results on the court. Chapman had a strong game against Idaho State on February 8 when she scored a career-high 12 points, adding in an assist, steal and block to her stat line.

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 81.3 free throw percentage. The team has hit 334 of its 411 free throw attempts. Savannah Scott leads the team with an 87.9 percentage from the charity stripe, ranking second in the Big Sky and 17th in the NCAA.

The Bears attacked the basket against Eastern Washington on January 27, and the strategy worked out drawing 19 fouls and earning a trip to the charity stripe 21 times. The Bears sank 20 of those attempts, led by Savannah Smith's 8-for-8 performance.

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 13-2 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.

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 15.2 assists per game this season. That ranks third in the Big Sky and 85th in the NCAA.

Krystal Leger-Walker leads the team with 3.8 apg and a 1.30 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those numbers rank her 10th and seventh in the Big Sky in both categories and 161st and 237th in the nation, respectively.

She not only dishes out assists but can fill up the bucket and clean the glass as she recorded her first career double-double against Weber State on February 10 with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

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.

20 WIn Season
For the third time under head coach Kamie Ethridge, Northern Colorado has won at least 20 games. The Bears secured the 20-win season on February 17 when they bear Southern Utah 60-54. UNC also recorded 20-win season in 2014-15 and 2016-17 under Ethridge. As a program, UNC has won 20 games in a season four times, including this year.

36 in our Bag of Tricks
Northern Colorado played one of its best quarters of basketball on Thursday against Idaho State. UNC scored a season-best 36 points in the 10 minute period to go from down two entering it to up 20 at the half with the game in hand. The Bears shot 68.8 percent including connecting on four 3-pointers in it. They also went 10-for-12 from the free throw line.

History Made
Northern Colorado made a little history on Saturday in its 78-63 win over Montana State. The Bears completed the first-ever season sweep of Montana and Montana State. The program had only swept the Gem State road trip once, back in 2014-15 season, before this year.

600 and Counting
The Northern Colorado women's basketball program recorded its 600th win on January 27th when they defeated Eastern Washington. UNC women's basketball first started in 1970.

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. 21 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, released on February 20th. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 37-14 when playing in Greeley.

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?
UNC is at home for the final week of the regular season starting on Wednesday, February 28 when Portland State comes to town. Tipoff between the Bears and Vikings is set for 7 pm.