University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Photo by: Abby Bondi, St. Thomas Athletics
Bears Host Game Two of Big Sky-Summit Challenge
12/6/2024 9:11:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GREELEY, Colo. -- The University of Northern Colorado's women's basketball team will host the University of North Dakota on Saturday, Dec. 7 for their second game in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Bears (6-2, 0-0 BSC) and the Fighting Hawks (3-5, 0-0 Summit) are slated to tipoff at 2:00 p.m. MT.
BIG SKY - SUMMIT CHALLENGE
The two leagues will be playing for a combined trophy for the second season in a row. Both men's and women's results will be equally considered from 36 total games.
Most programs will play one home game and one away game. Due to an uneven number of members between the two conferences, four Big Sky programs will only participate in one game.
2023-24 – Summit League (via tiebreaker)
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the University of Northern Colorado's Bear Vision department through ESPN+. Fans can purchase a subscription at plus.espn.com. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date, provided by the UNC Strategic Communications department.
THE SERIES
This will be the 47th time the two teams have played with the series starting in 1981. This will be the first matchup in the Mattio Era. The Fighting Hawks are winning the overall series 39-7.
W, 52-45 - Greeley, 2018
L, 70-78 - Grand Forks, 2018
L, 68-75 - Grand Forks, 2017
L, 51-57 - Greeley, 2017
L, 58-59 - Greeley, 2016
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS
The Fighting Hawks are 3-5 this season and are 2-2 at home, 0-1 on the road and 1-2 at neutral venues. They lost to Big Sky opponent Montana on Nov. 21 59-71 and beat Weber State on Wednesday night 73-69 for game one of the 2024 Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
North Dakota has three players averaging double digit scoring and is led by sophomore forward Kiera Pemberton who averages 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. while junior guard Mikayla Aumer is averaging 11.8 points and is leading the team in three pointers made with 14. Freshman guard Jocelyn Schiller is having a stellar rookie campaign, averaging 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is leading the team in assists with 26.
Mallory Bernhard has made a significant impact on the University of North Dakota women's basketball program, transitioning from an interim head coach in 2020 to a successful head coach in 2021. She has a 48-73 record and has led the Fighting Hawks to their first post season appearance since 2016-17.
THE MATTIO ERA
Head Coach Kristen Mattio enters her fourth season at the helm of Bears Women's Basketball. Under Mattio, the Bears are 49-52 since she took over the program in 2020. Mattio surpassed the 200th career victory mark in the overtime upset win against Big 12 opponent BYU on Nov. 23, 2024. Mattio is the first head coach to reach this mark at UNC in the Division I era. Mattio has led the Bears to top 25 rankings in the nation in the field goal percentage, forced turnovers, 3PT% (defense), and steals per game categories for the first time in program history. Mattio is currently seventh in program wins with 49 and is 10 wins away from claiming sixth.
LAST TIME OUT
Northern Colorado's defense shined in a 62-54 win over St. Thomas in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, improving the Bears to 6-2. Tatum West led with 17 points and key late plays, while Ella Van Weelden's four 3-pointers and 14 points helped secure the win. Aniah Hall and Gabi Fields contributed clutch performances, and UNC's defense held St. Thomas to just two points in the second quarter while forcing 17 turnovers overall. Despite a third-quarter surge by the Tommies, the Bears' depth and balanced effort proved decisive.
ON THIS DAY: DEC. 7
Saturday's game marks the fifth time the Bears have played on this date and the first since 2013. UNC is 2-3 all time on Dec. 7.
W, 78-73 – Nebraska Omaha, 2013
L, 35-51 – Wichita State, 2012
W, 70-49 – Metro State, 2002
L, 87-89 – Bemidji State, 1991
L, 71-86 – Colorado College, 1978
THE BIG SKY
The 2024-25 Big Sky Conference basketball schedule will feature 10 teams in a mirror schedule format. Each team will play each other twice: once at home, and once away.
The BSC Basketball Championships will feature all teams in the conference with seeding based on the 18 conference games. The championships will take place March 8-9-10-11-12, 2025, at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The tournament winners will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
2023-24 REVIEW
The Bears finished the season with a trip to the Women's National Invitational Tournament where they lost in the first round to the University of Texas at San Antonio. Delaynie Byrne dropped 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the floor and hauled seven rebounds. Aniah Hall paced the team in blocks with two and added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and four assists. They finished with a 15-16 overall record and 5th in the BSC.
UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Denver on Friday, Dec. 13 for a matchup against in state rival Denver University with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
FOLLOW THE BEARS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Bear action online and on social media. Follow the Bears on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsWBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsWBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsWBB).
BIG SKY - SUMMIT CHALLENGE
The two leagues will be playing for a combined trophy for the second season in a row. Both men's and women's results will be equally considered from 36 total games.
Most programs will play one home game and one away game. Due to an uneven number of members between the two conferences, four Big Sky programs will only participate in one game.
2023-24 – Summit League (via tiebreaker)
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the University of Northern Colorado's Bear Vision department through ESPN+. Fans can purchase a subscription at plus.espn.com. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date, provided by the UNC Strategic Communications department.
THE SERIES
This will be the 47th time the two teams have played with the series starting in 1981. This will be the first matchup in the Mattio Era. The Fighting Hawks are winning the overall series 39-7.
W, 52-45 - Greeley, 2018
L, 70-78 - Grand Forks, 2018
L, 68-75 - Grand Forks, 2017
L, 51-57 - Greeley, 2017
L, 58-59 - Greeley, 2016
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS
The Fighting Hawks are 3-5 this season and are 2-2 at home, 0-1 on the road and 1-2 at neutral venues. They lost to Big Sky opponent Montana on Nov. 21 59-71 and beat Weber State on Wednesday night 73-69 for game one of the 2024 Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
North Dakota has three players averaging double digit scoring and is led by sophomore forward Kiera Pemberton who averages 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. while junior guard Mikayla Aumer is averaging 11.8 points and is leading the team in three pointers made with 14. Freshman guard Jocelyn Schiller is having a stellar rookie campaign, averaging 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is leading the team in assists with 26.
Mallory Bernhard has made a significant impact on the University of North Dakota women's basketball program, transitioning from an interim head coach in 2020 to a successful head coach in 2021. She has a 48-73 record and has led the Fighting Hawks to their first post season appearance since 2016-17.
THE MATTIO ERA
Head Coach Kristen Mattio enters her fourth season at the helm of Bears Women's Basketball. Under Mattio, the Bears are 49-52 since she took over the program in 2020. Mattio surpassed the 200th career victory mark in the overtime upset win against Big 12 opponent BYU on Nov. 23, 2024. Mattio is the first head coach to reach this mark at UNC in the Division I era. Mattio has led the Bears to top 25 rankings in the nation in the field goal percentage, forced turnovers, 3PT% (defense), and steals per game categories for the first time in program history. Mattio is currently seventh in program wins with 49 and is 10 wins away from claiming sixth.
LAST TIME OUT
Northern Colorado's defense shined in a 62-54 win over St. Thomas in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, improving the Bears to 6-2. Tatum West led with 17 points and key late plays, while Ella Van Weelden's four 3-pointers and 14 points helped secure the win. Aniah Hall and Gabi Fields contributed clutch performances, and UNC's defense held St. Thomas to just two points in the second quarter while forcing 17 turnovers overall. Despite a third-quarter surge by the Tommies, the Bears' depth and balanced effort proved decisive.
ON THIS DAY: DEC. 7
Saturday's game marks the fifth time the Bears have played on this date and the first since 2013. UNC is 2-3 all time on Dec. 7.
W, 78-73 – Nebraska Omaha, 2013
L, 35-51 – Wichita State, 2012
W, 70-49 – Metro State, 2002
L, 87-89 – Bemidji State, 1991
L, 71-86 – Colorado College, 1978
THE BIG SKY
The 2024-25 Big Sky Conference basketball schedule will feature 10 teams in a mirror schedule format. Each team will play each other twice: once at home, and once away.
The BSC Basketball Championships will feature all teams in the conference with seeding based on the 18 conference games. The championships will take place March 8-9-10-11-12, 2025, at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The tournament winners will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
2023-24 REVIEW
The Bears finished the season with a trip to the Women's National Invitational Tournament where they lost in the first round to the University of Texas at San Antonio. Delaynie Byrne dropped 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the floor and hauled seven rebounds. Aniah Hall paced the team in blocks with two and added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and four assists. They finished with a 15-16 overall record and 5th in the BSC.
UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Denver on Friday, Dec. 13 for a matchup against in state rival Denver University with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
FOLLOW THE BEARS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Bear action online and on social media. Follow the Bears on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsWBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsWBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsWBB).
Players Mentioned
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