Complete Northern Colorado WBB Game Notes vs. UTEP Release in PDF Format
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University of Northern Colorado Bears (1-7)
vs. UTEP Miners (2-4)
Game #9 l Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 l 7:05 p.m. (Mountain)
El Paso, Texas. l Don Haskins Center (12,000)
GAME INFORMATION
The University of Northern Colorado Bears' women's basketball team will continue its busy week with its third game in five days. The Bears will travel to El Paso, Texas, to take on the UTEP Miners on Friday at the Don Haskins Center at 7:05 p.m. The Miners enter the contest with a record of 2-4 but have lost four in a row after opening the season with a pair of victories over UT-Dallas (75-36) and New Mexico State (64-44).
The Series: 4th meeting. Northern Colorado leads the all-time series, 3-0.
The Coaches: Ron Vlasin is 43-47 in his fourth season as a college coach. Vlasin won nine state championships as a prep coach in Colorado. Keitha Green is 31-61 in her fourth year with the Miners.
Radio: Bears' Radio Network (Flagship Station - Newstalk KFKA 1310-AM in Greeley). Scott McVay (play-by-play) will have the call. Available free online at www.uncbears.com
Television: None
Internet: Log onto UNCBears.com for the latest information on the Bears program including live stats, rosters, bios, statistics, releases, feature stories, box scores and much, much more.
Tickets: Call 970-351-2327 for more information.
THE BEAR FACTS
BEARS HOLD SERIES EDGE WITH UTEP
Although the squads have not met for nearly 25 years, the Bears hold a 3-0 series edge against the Miners. The last meeting between the two came on Feb. 9, 1979, when Northern Colorado scored an 80-67 win over UTEP in what was then an Intermountain Athletic Conference contest. The Bears also tallied a 66-56 win on Feb. 4, 1978, and a 55-49 victory on Jan. 24, 1976, with both of those contests taking place in El Paso.
UNC LOOKS TO SNAP ROAD SLUMP
The Bears have lost eight straight road games dating back to the 2003-04 season. UNC has lost all six road games this season by a combined 109 points for a minus-18.2 scoring margin differential.
VAN ORDEN SHINES AGAINST DENVER
Freshman forward Kirsten Van Orden looks to have recovered from an early season foot injury after tallying a career-high 13 points at Denver. Van Orden came off the bench and played a career-high 20 minutes against the Pioneers. Van Orden drained three trifectas to lead the Bears' outside attack in a 63-53 setback.
MCCARROLL PROVIDES BENCH SPARK
Junior forward Cindy McCarroll provided a big spark off the bench in Wednesday night's loss to Denver. McCarroll tallied a career-high 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor in 25 minutes of action.
BALANCED ATTACK
The Bears have four players averaging at least 7.4 points per game, but none of the five are averaging double digits. Kayla Flavin (8.0 ppg), Heather Barbour (7.6 ppg), Jena Fosdick (7.5 ppg) and Kendra Lambrecht (7.4 ppg) are all averaging over seven points per contest this season.
DILLON'S FINEST EFFORT THIS SEASON
Sophomore guard Bailey Dillon notched her finest effort of the season on Wednesday night against the Pioneers as she also came off the bench. Dillon played 25 minutes and did not miss a shot from the field as she made all three shots she attempted. Dillon drained a pair of three-pointers as well in the contest. Dillon scored a season-high nine points and dished out three assists.
HAGEN GETS HOT
Entering Monday night's game with Air Force, sophomore forward Danielle Hagen had scored 33 points in the Bears' first six games. Against the Falcons, Hagen caught fire and torched the nets for 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, which included a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the three-point arc. The 20-point effort was two off a career-high she set against CU-Colorado Springs (Feb. 10, 2004).
FREE THROW DISADVANTAGE
The Bears have found the going rough at the foul line so far this season. Northern Colorado has made 48-of-78 (61.5 percent) free attempts, but the Bears' opposition has attempted 157 free throws and have made 108 (68.8 percent).
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Northern Colorado has attempted 235 three-pointers in the first eigh games for an average of 29.4 attempts per game. The Bears have made 70 three-pointers, while the opposition has drained 46. UNC has made a total of 156 field goals.
VEAL LIKELY OUT WITH AN INJURY
Freshman center Dani Veal will likely be out 4-6 weeks with a left hip injury. Due to the rules and laws concerning personal injuries (HIPPA), the University of Northern Colorado athletic department is not allowed to discuss the exact nature of the injury.
DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK SNAPPED
The Bears did not have a double-digit scorer for the first time in 283 games when the squad failed to yield a 10-point scorer against Iowa State. Kendra Lambrecht and Heather Barbour each tallied eight points in the 76-36 loss in Ames. The last time the Bears did not have a double-digit scorer came all the way back on Feb. 11, 1994, in a 76-50 loss to North Dakota State.
Top-notch competition
UNC will play seven games against teams that competed in postseason tournaments last season. UNC will take on Nebraska (WNIT), Drake (WNIT), Iowa State (WNIT), Colorado (NCAA), Colorado State (WNIT), UNLV (WNIT) and Maryland (NCAA) this season. Both Iowa State and UNLV reached the national semifinals of the WNIT.
WINNING WAYS
The UNC women's basketball team will look to build upon last season's 16-11 record. Last season was the Bears' first year of a four-year transition to Division I.
BEARS RADIO NETWORK
All Northern Colorado women's basketball games will be broadcast on Newstalk 1310 KFKA (1310-AM) and KSIR (1010-AM) this season. Scott McVay will handle the play-by-play duties. Gameday coverage begins 30 minutes prior to tipoff with the Bears' Pregame Show.
early signings
University of Northern Colorado Women's basketball head coach Ron Vlasin has announced the team's first two signings for next season. Alisa Christopherson of Montana and Jabrenta Hubbard of Nevada will join the Bears' roster next season. Christopherson is a 5-11 forward from Sentinel High School in Missoula, Mont. She averaged 13 points a game after returning from a foot injury early in her junior year. Even though she played in only 11 games as a junior she was named first-team all-state and was also selected to the Montana state championship all-tournament team. She led Sentinel High School to a third-place finish in the 2004 State Tournament. Hubbard, a 5-6 point guard from Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev., averaged 19.9 points, 4.5 assists and 5 steals a game during her junior season. She was ranked the 38th best player in the country last season by NCAA FullCourt.com, and Street and Smith's 2004 ranked her as one of the top players in the West. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society and is currently ranked 29th of 595 students in her class with a 3.86 GPA.
BEARS ON THE MOVE TO DIVISION I
The University of Northern Colorado athletic department is in the midst of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I and the 2004 season will be year two of four. While currently an independent institution, Northern Colorado has submitted its proposal and application to join the Big Sky Conference. Membership in the Big Sky Conference will not only be financially beneficial to UNC, but will also bring Northern Colorado's highly competitive athletic programs to the Big Sky Conference for outstanding competition and sport rivalries at the Division I level. The Big Sky Conference currently sponsors 15 sports; Northern Coloradocompetes in 11 of those. Five of Northern Colorado's sports would continue to compete as independents baseball, softball, swimming, men's golf and wrestling. Currently, Football is a charter member of the Great West Football Conference.
