With 20 wins as the regular season winds down, the UNC Bears women’s basketball team has more to do before any celebration for the best year in seven seasons.
UNC reached a college basketball milestone number last weekend. The team’s 20 wins is the first for the Bears under under fifth-year head coach Kristen Mattio.
Now, Mattio and the players are more interested in the final three regular-season games and then the Big Sky Conference Tournament early next month.
“I know some people think that 20 wins is a little bit of a mark of what you’re trying to get to,” Mattio said Tuesday. “I also think for us 20 wins doesn’t necessarily win you a Big Sky championship. So, our goal isn’t to get to 20 wins, our goal is to win a championship.”
UNC won 20 games for the first time since 2018-19 with a Feb. 21 road win at Northern Arizona. Five UNC players scored in double figures to help the Bears to their third-straight win.
The Bears are one of three teams in the Big Sky to reach the 20-win mark this season. Conference leading Idaho and second-place Montana State are the other schools to win at least 20 games.
UNC’s Neenah George, Heather Baymon, Tatum West and Aniah Hall are all averaging in double figures in scoring.
“There’s still so much in front of us,” Mattio added. “It’s hard to really sit and say we accomplished something when we’re right in the middle of everything that we’re trying to do.” UNC Bears women's basketball players Aniah Hall, left, and Erin Powell during a December 2025 nonconference game against Kanas City at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
UNC’s season continues Thursday and Saturday against Big Sky opponents Eastern Washington and Idaho, respectively. Like the UNC men, the women’s team ends the regular season playing three games in five days.
The Bears (20-8 overall, 11-4 Big Sky) are in third place in the conference standings and host Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. Thursday at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. Located at 1600 23rd St., the arena is accessible via 14th Avenue at the intersection with 20th Street to the north and off 17th Avenue to the west.
After hosting Eastern Washington, the Bears then have a quick turnaround travel day Friday to Idaho where they’ll meet the Vandals for a senior day doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
The UNC and Idaho men play at 2 p.m. Saturday at ICCU Arena in Moscow followed by the UNC and Idaho women at 4:30 p.m. The women’s team ends its regular season Monday night at Montana in Missoula.
The Big Sky Conference Men’s and Women’s Tournament is March 7-11 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. Tickets for the tournament are available at the Big Sky Conference website, bigskyconf.com/tournaments/?id=671.
The UNC women defeated Eastern Washington in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 31 in Cheney, Washington. The Eagles (13-15 overall, 6-9 Big Sky) are tied for fifth place in the conference. UNC Bears women's basketball coach Kristen Mattio on the sidelines during a December 2025 game against the University of Colorado at the CU Events Center in Boulder. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
Idaho might very well be a different story for UNC. The Vandals (23-5, 14-1) are on a 12-game winning streak heading to Thursday evening’s home against Northern Arizona.
Idaho’s only loss in the conference season was a 33-point defeat to defending conference champion Montana State in early January in Bozeman, Montana. Idaho won the rematch at home in overtime in early February.
The Vandals beat UNC during the winning streak Jan. 29 on Kids Day in Greeley, in front of a big crowd thanks to the attendance of nearly 2,000 Greeley-Evans School District students. Tied at the end of three quarters, Idaho used a 20-point fourth to pull away, shooting a game-best 63.6% from the floor.
“They did some really good things against us, I thought we did some really good things against them,” Mattio said of Idaho. “I think our players when we get to that point will be excited for that opportunity down in Moscow.”
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