Women's Basketball preps for final road trip of the season with Eastern Washington on deck

Calendar

Nov 3

5 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Northern New Mexico College

Nov 8

2 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Lamar

Nov 11

6 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Bethany College (Kan.)

Nov 14

6 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Denver

Nov 21

TBD

Women's Basketball

vs Campbell University

Nov 22

TBD

Women's Basketball

at DePaul University

Nov 25

7 p.m. | 6 p.m. MST

Women's Basketball

at Arizona

Nov 28

6 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Chadron State

Dec 3

6 p.m. MT

Women's Basketball

vs Kansas City

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado takes its winning streak to the Northwest with matchup with Eastern Washington on deck.

Game Info
Who: at Eastern Washington (9-18, 5-11)
When: February 24 at 7 p.m. MT
Where: Cheney, Wash.
How To Follow: LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | UNC_BearsWBB

Opening Tip
Hannah Simental is piecing together one outstanding season in the Blue and Gold. The Pueblo, Colorado native is fifth in scoring in the conference (15.1), has surpassed 500 career points and just reset her career-high with 26 against Weber State on just 7-13 shooting.

Part of UNC's two-straight wins has been the clutch factor that Simental brings to the court. The sophomore was 8-8 from the free-throw line against the Wildcats, including 6-6 in the fourth quarter and overtime. This season, Simental is 41-44 from the charity stripe in the final quarter or overtime.

Head coach Kristen Mattio's defense has yet to waver in 2021-22. Allowing 59.9 points per game, the Bears are No. 95 in the country and No. 1 in the Big Sky. Thirteen times UNC has held its opponent to less than 60.

Mattio's defense is particularly good at defending the three, allowing a league-best 28.4 percent from deep.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado won its second straight game, outlasting Weber State 60-55 in overtime. Hannah Simental poured in a career-high 26 points, including an ice-cold 8-8 from the free-throw line to close out the victory.

Scouting the Eagles
First-year head coach Joddie Gleason earned arguably the biggest win of her career, knocking off Montana State in Bozeman last week. Eastern Washington has won three of their last five and have surged up the Big Sky standings.

Freshman Jaydia Martin has been letting it fly from three-point range this season. The Vancouver Washington native ranks first in the Big Sky with 192 three-point attempts this season, burying a conference-best 56 of them.

As a team, the Eagles are particularly astute in turning teams over, averaging 8.9 steals per game (2nd best in the Big Sky). EWU also relies heavily on offensive rebounds, ranking third in the conference at 11.3 per game.

History against Eastern Washington
With its win last month in Greeley, the Bears have now won five straight versus the Eagles. All-Time, Northern Colorado is 20-11 against Eastern Washington, including a 10-6 mark in Cheney.

What's Ahead?
The Bears will stay on the road for its last away game of the season at Idaho on Saturday, February 26. UNC will be back in Bank of Colorado Arena on Wednesday, March 2 against Montana. 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.