Tipping Off 
After playing their lone home game of December earlier this week, the Mavericks (5-5) will close out 2022 with four-straight road games, beginning with Northern Colorado (6-2) this Friday at 7 p.m. in Greeley, Colo.  

The game can be heard on 1180 The Zone with Jon Schriner on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com. 

Quick Hits 

• In their first home game in nearly three weeks, the Mavericks trounced the College of Saint Mary 84-34. That 50-point margin of victory is the highest Omaha has had since its 103-40 win over Avila back on November 4, 2017. 
• Omaha dominated the stat sheet, besting the Flames in shooting percentage (42.9%, 30-for-70 to 23.6%, 13-for-55), 3-PT FGs (37.0%, 10-for-27 to 18.2%, 6-for-33), free throws (14-for-15 to 2-for-2), rebounds (52 to 30), steals (14 to 6), and turnovers (13 to 23). 
• Akili Felici had arguably the best game of her career against CSM, setting personal bests with 17 points and six rebounds. She shot 5-for-8 (.625) with three from behind the arc.  
• Jaylen Townsend (15 points) and Grace Cave (12 points) also reached double digits for the Mavericks, with Townsend also making three from deep while Cave led the team with four steals and three assists. Cave is also just one point shy of 100 and is more than halfway to her 2021-22 total (171) in only 10 games. 
• Kennedi Grant and Morgann Gardner both finished with nine points vs. Saint Mary. Grant went a perfect 5-for-5 from the stripe and had three steals while Gardner had four boards. Grant is just three points away from her 2021-22 total (93) in less than half as many games played, and Gardner is only two rebounds away from matching her 25 from last season. 
• Brooklyn Smith led the Mavericks with a career-high eight rebounds on Sunday, almost doubling her season total to 17 

Scouting the Bears 
The Bears are 6-2 this season, picking up wins against two Summit League opponents in Denver (77-68) and South Dakota (72-65), while dropping one against North Dakota State (54-68). 

Last year, UNC went 15-16 overall and 9-11 in the Big Sky conference. After qualifying for the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 8 seed, they upset Eastern Washington and Idaho State in the first two rounds, before falling to Northern Arizona in the semifinals.

Junior guard Hannah Simental is Northern Colorado's leading scorer with 147 points (18.4 ppg) after finishing in double-digits every game this season. She is currently shooting 41-for-88 (.466), including 25-for-50 (.500) from three, and is 40-for-42 (.952) on free throws. Simental also leads the team with 11 steals 

After transferring from UNLV, junior forward Delaynie Byrne has become the Bears' top defensive player with a team-high 65 total rebounds (8.1 rpg) and seven blocks. She is also a major offensive threat, scoring 125 points (15.6 ppg) with a 53.7% shooting percentage (44-for-82) and already has two double-doubles. 

Redshirt freshman Averee Kleinhans is enjoying a very promising rookie season, leading the team with 26 assists and occupying the top five in points (76), rebounds (43), steals (six), and blocks (two). She picked up her first career double-double against Colorado State in November with 16 points and 12 rebounds. 

Head Coach Kristen Mattio is in her second season leading the Bears, going 21-18 overall. Before coming to UNC, she was at the helm of the D-II West Texas A&M team, going 154-35 across six seasons. 

All-Time Against Northern Colorado 

The Mavericks are 12-25 against the Bears all time, but 2-2 since making the transition to Division I. The last two contests have both gone Omaha's way, however, with a 66-64 win in Colorado in 2020 and a 48-41 win at home last December. Sam Mitchell and Grace Cave had seven points each in that game, as well as combining for seven rebounds and five steals.