Almost halfway through its Big Sky Conference schedule, the UNC Bears women’s basketball team has shown itself to be an improved squad this year.
UNC is 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the Big Sky after its win Saturday over Northern Arizona.
The 15 overall wins is one more than UNC had all of last year, and the Bears have matched last year’s win total in the Big Sky.
There is plenty of time before the end of the regular season and the conference tournament. UNC has 10 regular-season games remaining starting Thursday afternoon against Idaho. The game begins at noon at Bank of Colorado Arena for District 6 Kids Day.
The UNC men, still struggling this season, host the Idaho men at 7 p.m. Thursday. The men (11-10, 1-7 Big Sky) have lost five games in a row.
Northern Colorado Bears guard Neenah George (5) drives the ball down the court during a women's basketball game against the Kansas City Kangaroos at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of Northern Colorado University in Greeley on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The Idaho women’s team is in second place in the conference standings (6-1), one spot ahead of UNC. This will be the teams’ first meeting of the season. Idaho comes to Greeley on a four-game winning streak, which is currently the best in the conference.
First-place Montana State (7-1) lost its first conference game last week to Idaho State. Montana State beat UNC in both games this season.
Back to UNC, the Bears appear to have depth and balance in scoring. Four players are averaging in double figures in points per game. Junior center Tatum West (10.1 points) is also averaging 8.9 rebounds, which is third in the conference. She reached 500 rebounds in her collegiate career earlir this month.
Here’s a little more on UNC after its weekend win over Northern Arizona. Aniah Hall and Neenah George both scored 12 points and West pulled down 11 rebounds. Hall, a senior forward, is 19 points from 1,000 for her career.
UNC Bears women's basketball player Gabi Fields, center, handles the ball during a Big Sky Conference game against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. UNC won 72-59. (Courtesy/Ally McCutchen, UNC Athletics). Head coach Kristen Mattio and senior guard Gabi Fields answered three questions. Fields had a strong stat line against Northern Arizona with 10 points, four steals, three assists (and three turnovers) and three rebounds. Their replies were edited for length and clarity.What’s behind the success this season?
Mattio: “It’s hard for me to say, because I feel like the job is not done yet, and we’re so early in it. So I guess it depends. Like, how do we define success? Ultimately, the big picture goal is to be a Big Sky champion, right?”
“I think there’s a connectedness, togetherness to the team. As you see, they play really, really hard so, and there’s no substitute for just the hard work and just that effort level, and then we have some players that are putting the ball in the hole for us.”
Fields: “I just think as a team, we’ve done a really good job of keeping our focus on our end goal, and that is to be a Big Sky champion. And like coach said, we’re just right now doing what we’re supposed to do. And so it’s easy to be comfortable off of a couple wins, but I don’t feel like that’s what we’re talking about as a team, and I know that that’s not all we’re here to do.”
UNC worked the ball into the paint more effectively in the second half against Northern Arizona. Eight of the Bears’ 17 points in the third quarter were in the paint and 12 of 21 in the fourth.
What allowed you to do that?
Fields: “I think initially we didn’t necessarily attack like we usually do against the zone, and I think it just took a little bit to kind of get in the groove and understand how they were going to guard. We score a lot of points in the paint just between games. And so that was an adjustment we made. I felt like throughout just playing through our fives, and even, like with the O boards (offensive rebounds) like that gives us those second-chance opportunities.”
Northern Colorado Bears forward Aniah Hall (22) puts up a shot while being guarded by Kansas City Kangaroos forward Kelby Bannerman (11) during a women's basketball game at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of Northern Colorado University in Greeley on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The UNC bench outscored Northern Arizona 33-16, which appeared to be important.
Has that been the case all season?
Mattio: “We have very capable scorers coming off the bench as well as the starting group. So I think when you ask, what’s part of their success, it’s because of depth. Depth allows you to have success because not you’re not going to make every shot, or a 3-point shooter is going to have an off night. So how can you counter that? We have several players coming off the bench that have scored in the 20s for us this year too. So I think that’s what is the beauty of the game, is we don’t care who’s scoring the points, who’s getting the recognition that night, as long as we get the win.”
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