Women's Basketball set for quick trip to Abilene Christian before Christmas

Sunday, December 19

Abilene, TX

Noon MT

University of Northern Colorado

Abilene Christian University

12/17/2021 11:04:00 AM | Women's Basketball

GAME NOTES LIVE STATS ESPN+

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado Women's Basketball looks to avenge last season's loss to Abilene Christian and retake the lead in the all-time series on the road in Texas.

Game Info
Who: at Abilene Christian (7-2, 0-0)
When: December, 19 at Noon MT
Where: Abilene, Texas
How To Follow: LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | UNC_BearsWBB

Opening Tip
Northern Colorado's defense under head coach Kristen Mattio has been downright unflappable. Allowing just 59.6 points per contest, the Bears rank second in the Big Sky Conference and No. 116 in the country.

With the help of sophomore Hannah Simental, UNC is one of the better three-point shooting teams in the conference. Simental ranks fifth in both three-point field goals per game (2.33) and three-point percentage (38.9). As a team, the Bears average 7.4 made threes a game, fourth-best in the Big Sky.

Senior transfer Zoe Campbell has been an unmovable force on the defensive end of the floor. At 1.38 blocks per contest, the Australian is second in the conference and No. 117 in the country.

Five players (Brooklyn Evans, Callie Boyles, Alexis Chapman, Averee Kleinhans and Kurstyn Harden) all make their return to their home state of Texas on Sunday in Abilene.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado held its old NCC foe Omaha to just 48 points, the lowest total the Bears have held an opponent since allowing 42 against Eastern Washington in January of 2020. UNC wasn't able to knock to timely buckets, however, falling 48-41 to the Mavericks.

Scouting the Wildcats
Julie Goodenough is coming off yet another postseason appearance in 2020-21. Her Wildcat team was invited to the WBI last spring, playing tough in games against Portland, FIU and Loyola Chicago.

Pundits disagree on where ACU would finish this season, however. The coaches in the Western Athletic Conference have tabbed ACU fifth while the media has them tied for eighth. Abilene Christian enters the weekend with seven wins, including victories over UTSA and both Little Rock and Arkansas State.

Madi Miller picked up preseason All-WAC honors and has shown early why she was deserving of the award. The senior ranks No. 1 in the WAC in assist to turnover ratio (No. 16 in the nation), No. 2 in the conference in assists per game and top-10 in three-pointers per game.

Offensively, the Wildcats are top five in the WAC in every single offensive category.

History against ACU
Northern Colorado and Abilene Christian have matched up twice in program history. UNC got the better of the Wildcats in 1990, while ACU won the most recent battle last December.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado returns to Bank of Colorado Arena for a matchup with Kansas Wesleyan on December 28. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. MT and tickets can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets.

To stay up to date on all things UNC Women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the new UNC Athletics app by clicking here.