Jan. 17, 2008

Weekly Release: Eastern Washington, Portland State in pdf format

Games #15-16

Eastern Washington (3-14, 0-4 Big Sky) at Northern Colorado (7-8, 1-1 Big Sky)

Thursday, Jan. 17 • Greeley, Colo. • Butler-Hancock (2,734) • 7:05 p.m.

Portland State (14-3, 4-0 Big Sky) at Northern Colorado

Saturday, Jan. 19 • Greeley, Colo. • Butler-Hancock (2,734) • 2:05 p.m.

The Series.......................... EWU...................... PSU

Overall Record..................... 1-1........................ 1-2

In Greeley........................... 1-0........................ 1-1

At Opponent......................... 0-1........................ 0-1

At Neutral Sites.................... 0-0........................ 0-0

Last Meeting..................... 2006-07.............. 2006-07

White vs.............................. 1-1........................ 0-2

The Coaches

Northern Colorado.... Jaime White (12-32, second year)

E. Washington..................... Wendy Schuller (83-104, seventh year)

Portland State............................. Sherri Murrell (14-3, first year*)

   *at current school

Radio

   KFKA 1310 AM.............. J.J. McKay, play-by-play

Audio Streaming

   KFKA............................................. 1310kfka.com

Television

   None

Video Streaming

   Big Sky............................................. bigskytv.org

Live Stats

                None

Return To Action

After 11 days with no competition, the Northern Colorado women's basketball team returns to the court hosting a pair of Big Sky teams in Eastern Washington on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are 3-14 overall and 0-4 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Vikings have the inverted record, 14-3 overall and 4-0 in league action.

Series History

In the first two meetings all-time against Eastern Washington last season, the Bears split decisions, winning 78-54 in Greeley and losing 68-47 in Cheney. This will be the fourth-ever meeting between Portland State and Northern Colorado with the Vikings winning both decisions last year and the Bears winning the first meeting back in 1989. Last year in Greeley the score was 81-63, while the season finale in Portland was 77-63.

Win At Home, Split On The Road

Many coaches feel to be successful in conference play you must take care of the home games and split on the road, and that's just what Northern Colorado did on the opening week of Big Sky play. The Bears opened league action with an 86-66 loss at Idaho State before bouncing back to defeat Weber State 70-60.

Another First

The win over Weber State marked the first-ever road win in Big Sky Conference play for the Bears. Last season the Bears were 0-8 away from Butler-Hancock and 2-6 at home for an overall record of 2-14 in the first season in the league.

A Schroeder Explosion

Junior forward Jamie Schroeder has tied or tallied a career-high in each of the last four games, notching 18 points in each game against San Jose State and St. Mary's and then bettered that with 21 points at Idaho State and extended her career-high to 28 at Weber State. She is leading the conference in league-only games in scoring with 24.5 points per game as well as field goal percentage at .640 and free throw percentage with a perfect 13-for-13.

Balanced Attack

Four different players on the team are averaging 9.5 points or better this season with junior forward Jamie Schroeder leading the way at 10.4. Freshmen guards Courtney Stoermer and Kate Kevorken are averaging 10.3 and 9.9 per game, respectively, while senior center Danielle Hagen is averaging 9.5. All four rank among the top 30 in the Big Sky Conference in scoring with Schroeder ranking 17th, Stoermer 18th, Kevorken 22nd and Hagen 23rd.

Carom By Committee

Northern Colorado is the only team in the Big Sky Conference to have four players ranked among the top 20 in rebounds. Senior center Danielle Hagen ranks 3rd (8.9), while junior forward Jamie Schroeder is 13th (6.1), freshman guard Kate Kevorken is 17th (5.0) and freshman guard Courtney Stoermer ranks 20th (4.5). As a team, the Bears second in rebounds per game (39.3).

Hagen Among National Leaders

Senior center Danielle Hagen ranks 52nd among Division I players in rebounds with 8.9 per game and is 62nd in free throw percentage, shooting .833 from the charity stripe. Freshman guard Kate Kevorken also ranks 91st in three-pointers made per game, hitting 2.1. The team ranks 28th in the same category with their 6.9 a contest.

Take Care Of The Ball

For just the fourth time this year the Bears recorded a positive assist-to-turnover ratio against Weber State with 17 assists and a season-low 11 turnovers. Northern Colorado is 3-1 in games with more assists than turnovers, with the lone exception being at Colorado.

National Girls & Women In Sports

On February 7 in the game against Weber State, the Bears will support National Girls & Women In Sports Day. A clinic will be offered the afternoon of the 6th. Stay tuned to uncbears.com for more information.

Helping Hands

Northern Colorado players are doing a great job of setting up their teammates this season, as 59% of all shots are assisted. Five different active players have 15 or more assists on the year, led by freshman guard Courtney Stoermer's 46 (3.07/game). She is also the only player on the team with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02) to rank eighth in the Big Sky statistics.

No Bench Warmer

Freshman guard Kate Kevorken is the only non-starter in the Big Sky Conference to rank among the top 25 in scoring. She currently ranks 22nd with 9.9 points per game and also ranks seventh in rebounds with 5.0 a contest. She has eight double figure scoring games off the bench and one double-double (SE Missouri State).

Non-Conference Recap

The Bears posted a 6-7 non-conference record during 2007, including their first true road victory during Jaime White's tenure as head coach with the 69-46 win at San Jose State on Dec. 28. They also won a neutral site contest against Southeast Missouri State back on Nov. 24 at New Mexico State.

Uncontested

In four of the first eight games this season, the Bears shot below 60 percent from the free throw line, but have turned things around, shooting at least .625 in each of the last seven games, including a season-best .867 (13-15) at Saint Mary's. Northern Colorado is now shooting .729 from the charity stripe this season, compared to .636 for the opposition.

Going Streaking

Northern Colorado has now made at least one three-pointer in 192 consecutive games, dating all the way back to Jan. 20, 2001 at South Dakota State. This season, the Bears have connected on at least three triples in all 15 contests.

She's Back

Head Coach Jaime White luckily missed just two games during her medical leave of absence. She returned to the bench in a limited role at Wyoming. White announced after the game against UMKC she had to undergo emergency surgery for cancer and will undergo radiation treatments later in the season.

I'll See Your Five And Raise You Two

With the win over San Jose State, Northern Colorado surpassed its win total from last season, posting its sixth victory of the year and the Bears now have seven after the win at Weber State. In 2006-07, the Bears were 5-24, while this year they are 7-8. Through the first 15 games last season, the team had just three victories and two were over Division II schools, while this year, all seven wins are against Division I teams.

Closing In

Several Bears are closing in on career or season milestones. Senior center Danielle Hagen's next blocked shots will be her 50th and is five rebounds shy of 650. Sophomore guard Alisa Christopherson is now just 16 points shy of 100 for her career at Northern Colorado and sophomore guard Lizzie Cooper's next point will be her 50th. Freshman guard Kate Kevorken needs two points for 150 and junior forward Jamie Schroeder needs eight rebounds for 100.

Down On The Block

Senior center Danielle Hagen continues to rebound the ball extremely well. Hagen now has 645 caroms in her career, needing just 10 more to tie for eighth, tying Marianne Clark (1996-00) with 655. Hagen also has 221 assists in her career, needing just five to break onto that career list.

On These Dates

In games played on Jan. 17, NC is 5-3 all-time, including a 1-1 record in overtime tilts, while on Jan. 19, the Bears are 5-5 all-time.

Leading The Way - Team Wise

Through games played on Jan. 12, Northern Colorado ranks first in defensive rebounds (27.73), second in field goal percentage defense (.383), three-point field goal percentage defense (.284), rebounding offense (39.3) and three-pointers made (6.93) and is third in scoring defense (62.7), rebounding defense (37.9) and rebounding margin (+1.3) in the Big Sky.

Leading The Way - Individually

In the individual Big Sky Conference statistics, senior center Danielle Hagen ranks third in the league in rebounds (8.9), fourth in free throw percentage (.833), fourth in offensive rebounds (2.60) and third in defensive rebounds (6.33), while freshman guard Courtney Stoermer ranks eighth in assists (3.07), ninth in blocked shots (0.73), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02) and second in minutes played (25.93). Junior Jamie Schroeder ranks ninth in field goal percentage (.462) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.385) and freshman guard Kate Kevorken ranks fifth in three-pointers made (2.13).

No One Likes To See That

Unfortunately, junior guard Whitley Cox suffered a season-ending injury to her left knee in the game against Air Force. Cox will hopefully be able to receive a medical hardship and have two full seasons of eligibility remaining. She was leading the team and ranked second in the Big Sky Conference averaging 20.1 points per game.

Wire To Wire

Northern Colorado led the game from the opening tip to the closing buzzer against both San Francisco and Columbia. The Bears scored the first nine points of the game against the Dons and led by as many as 28 with just under 11 minutes to play in the second half. Against the Lions, the Bears scored the first eight and led by as many as 22. Last season the Bears never led a contest from the beginning through the end of the game.

Now Eligible

The Northern Colorado women's basketball team is now eligible to compete in postseason play in 2007 after successfully making the transition to Division I. This year marks the first year the Bears are also eligible to win the Big Sky Conference Championship as well as compete in the Big Sky Tournament.

Chosen Ninth

The University of Northern Colorado women's basketball team was chosen by both the Big Sky Conference coaches and media to finish ninth in league play during 2007-08. The Bears received 11 votes in the coaches poll and 34 in the media poll. Montana was picked to win in both the coaches and media preseason polls, while Idaho State is picked to finish second in both polls.

On The Horizon

Northern Colorado continues to inch closer to a large program milestone. The win against Weber State marked the 486th win in program history and the team now needs 15 for 500. The Bears are 486-476 all-time.

Bears Add Three

Head Coach Jaime White announced the signing of three student-athletes in Kaisha Brown, Courtney Kranz and Lauren Oosdyke.

Kaisha Brown, 5-10, G/F, Spirit Lake, Iowa (Spirit Lake HS)

Brown averaged 14.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a junior with four games over 20 or more points in a game. Was a second-team All-Northwest Iowa Girls Basketball selection last year.

Courtney Kranz, 6-3, C, Mendota Heights, Minn. (Visitation HS)

Kranz is a three-time letterwinner entering her senior season with the Blazers. She is also a two-time all-conference selection and was the only unanimous pick as a junior. She helped lead her team to the conference championship last year and also is a three-time letterwinner in volleyball, where her team was three-time conference champions. She plays club basketball for the NC Heat where they placed third at the AAU Nationals last season.

Lauren Oosdyke, 5-11, F, Coto de Caza, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic HS)

Was a first-team All-Trinity League selection as a junior after being named a second-team all-conference selection in the Sierra League as a sophomore. She has also been named to several all-tournament teams throughout her career. Averages 10 points and eight rebounds per game to go along with a 58% field goal percentage from the field.

Scouting The Eagles

Eastern Washington is currently winless in Big Sky Conference action at 0-4 and is 3-14 on the season and has dropped its last seven contests.

The Eagles have played the last three games without leading scorer, freshman Kyla Evans, who averages 12.4 per game. Junior Sydney Benson leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore Jessica Huntington is getting 4.5 assists per game and junior Katy Baker is averaging 1.4 steals per game and is second on the team with 11.1 points a contest.

Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding offense (13.65) and is third in blocked shots (3.65).

Scouting The Vikings

Portland State currently ranks first in the Big Sky standings with a perfect 4-0 mark in league action and they are 14-3 overall this season.

Junior Kelsey Kahle leads the Vikings in scoring (17.8), rebounding (7.9) and steals (2.4) per game, while sophomore Claire Faucher leads the team and the nation with 9.0 assists per game and freshman Courtney Cremer leads the team with 1.0 blocks per game.

Portland State is the top scoring team in the conference, averaging 75.8 points. They also lead the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.270), assists (17.59) and steals (9.06) and rank second in scoring margin (+8.6), field goal percentage (.443), rebounding defense (36.9), rebounding margin (+2.2), turnover margin (+1.71), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.05) and offensive rebounds (13.59).