Bears Improve to 8-2 After Defeating Omaha on The Road

Saturday, December 6

Omaha, Neb.

12 p.m. MST | 1 p.m. CDT

University of Northern Colorado

8-2,0-0Big Sky

Omaha

1-8,0-0Summit League

Northern Colo.

Omaha

Omaha Athletics

12/6/2025 2:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Elian Soto, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

OMAHA, Neb. — Northern Colorado women's basketball opened its four-game road stretch with a strong performance against Omaha in the second match up of the Big Sky–Summit League Challenge. The Bears controlled the game from start to finish, earning a solid win over the Mavericks. With the victory, Northern Colorado finishes 2–0 in the challenge series and improves its overall record to an impressive 8–2.

The Bears opened the game with intensity, quickly putting up six unanswered points to take an early lead. The Mavericks, however, found their rhythm as the quarter went on and battled back with a run of their own, eventually evening the score at 15–15 by the end of the first quarter. Julia Riley and Erin Powell were key contributors in the opening stretch, each tallying six points and providing the offensive spark for the Bears in the opening minutes.

In the second quarter, Tatum West began to hit her stride offensively, quickly tallying four points to push the Bears ahead 19–17. Northern Colorado maintained that momentum, continuing to execute efficiently on both ends of the floor and stretching the lead to seven. By halftime, West made a major impact, collecting 10 rebounds, an impressive seven of them on the offensive glass, while also adding six points.

Erin Powell continued to provide the offensive spark for the Bears, leading all scorers with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. She also grabbed three rebounds and delivered steady play throughout the half, helping Northern Colorado secure a 30–22 advantage heading into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, the Bears wasted no time, knocking down back-to-back threes to push their lead to 36–22 and force Omaha to burn an early timeout in the third frame. UNC kept their momentum rolling, continuing to find success from beyond the arc and steadily stretching the margin. Julia Riley played a key role in the surge, shooting with confidence and efficiency while benefiting from crisp ball movement that consistently created open looks. Northern Colorado controlled the tempo throughout the quarter. The Bears carried a 50–35 advantage into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, the Bears remained in command, responding to every Omaha surge with timely scoring. The Mavericks mounted a late run that cut the lead to eight and momentarily shifted the momentum, but the Bears held firm. Steady execution on both ends — highlighted by key buckets from Aniah Hall and Julia Riley to help the Bears withstand the rally.

The Bears closed out a 71–60 win, their eighth victory of the season.

The Bears shot 36 percent from the field as a team, finishing with 41 rebounds, 15 assists, and 36 points from the bench.

Northern Colorado extends their winning streak to three games.

UP NEXT
The Bears will shift their attention to December 16, when the Bears travel to Boulder, Colorado to face in-state opponent Colorado.

FINAL PLAYER STATS
Julia Riley: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Aniah Hall: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Erin Powell: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Tatum West: 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals
Gabi Fields: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists

FOLLOW THE BEARS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Bear action at uncbears.com and on social media. Follow the Bears on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsWBB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsWBB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsWBB).