# 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears were led by fourth year head coach Kamie Ethridge, played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–7, 15–3 in Big Sky play to win the Big Sky regular season championship. They defeated Montana, Idaho State, and Idaho to win the Big Sky women's tournament for the first time in program history. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, the school's first. As the No. 10 seed in the Lexington region, they lost to Michigan in the first round.
Ethridge left Northern Colorado on April 16 after four seasons for Washington State. On April 30, former UCLA assistant head coach Jennifer Roulier-Huth was named the new head coach for the Bears.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 31, 2017* 7:00 pm | | CSU–Pueblo | W 68–51 | | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at No. 25 DePaul | W 94–88 | 1–0 | McGrath-Phillips Arena (1,665) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 12, 2017* 1:00 pm, ALT | | at Denver | W 71–63 | 2–0 | Magness Arena Denver, CO |
| Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm | | LSU | W 58–50 | 3–0 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,180) Greeley, CO |
| Nov 19, 2017* 2:00 pm | | San Francisco | W 73–60 | 4–0 | Bank of Colorado Arena (608) Greeley, CO |
| Nov 22, 2017* 11:00 am | | at Quinnipiac | L 49–60 | 4–1 | TD Bank Sports Center (604) Hamden, CT |
| Nov 24, 2017* 5:00 pm | | at Fordham | L 33–48 | 4–2 | Rose Hill Gymnasium (259) Bronx, NY |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm | | BYU | W 79–74 | 5–2 | Bank of Colorado Arena (753) Greeley, CO |
| Dec 03, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Pacific | W 80–55 | 6–2 | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| Dec 10, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Colorado State | L 44–55 | 6–3 | Bank of Colorado Arena (986) Greeley, CO |
| Dec 19, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at UMKC Roo Holiday Classic | W 88–73 | 7–3 | Swinney Recreation Center (222) Kansas City, MO |
| Dec 20, 2017* 12:00 pm | | vs. Liberty Roo Holiday Classic | W 65–57 | 8–3 | Swinney Recreation Center (113) Kansas City, MO |
| Big Sky regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Washington | W 70–65 | 9–3 (1–0) | Reese Court (313) Cheney, WA |
| Dec 30, 2017 3:00 pm | | at Idaho | W 78–72 | 10–3 (2–0) | Cowan Spectrum (380) Moscow, ID |
| Jan 04, 2018 7:00 pm, CET | | Montana State | W 82–69 | 11–3 (3–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena (869) Greeley, CO |
| Jan 06, 2018 2:00 pm | | Montana | W 68–50 | 12–3 (4–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena (757) Greeley, CO |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Weber State | L 73–82 | 12–4 (4–1) | Dee Events Center (628) Ogden, UT |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Idaho State | W 63–57 | 13–4 (5–1) | Reed Gym (1,037) Pocatello, ID |
| Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm | | at North Dakota | L 70–78 | 13–5 (5–2) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,877) Grand Forks, ND |
| Jan 25, 2017 7:00 pm | | Idaho | L 71–79 | 13–6 (5–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (772) Greeley, CO |
| Jan 27, 2018 12:00 pm | | Eastern Washington | W 68–62 | 14–6 (6–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (893) Greeley, CO |
| Feb 01, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Montana | W 64–58 | 15–6 (7–3) | Dahlberg Arena (3,155) Missoula, MT |
| Feb 03, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Montana State | W 78–63 | 16–6 (8–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1,794) Bozeman, MT |
| Feb 08, 2018 12:00 pm | | Idaho State | W 75–52 | 17–6 (9–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,714) Greeley, CO |
| Feb 10, 2018 12:00 pm, CET | | Weber State | W 71–69 | 18–6 (0–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,451) Greeley, CO |
| Feb 15, 2018 6:30 pm | | at Northern Arizona | W 85–63 | 19–6 (11–3) | Walkup Skydome (225) Flagstaff, AZ |
| Feb 17, 2018 12:30 pm | | at Southern Utah | W 60–54 | 20–6 (12–3) | America First Events Center (631) Cedar City, UT |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm | | North Dakota | W 51–45 | 21–6 (13–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,232) Greeley, CO |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm | | Portland State | W 63–60 | 22–6 (14–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,356) Greeley, CO |
| Mar 02, 2018 7:00 pm | | Sacramento State | W 90–68 | 23–6 (15–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,473) Greeley, CO |
| Big Sky Women's Tournament ||||||
| Mar 07, 2018 1:05 pm | (1) | vs. (8) Montana Quarterfinals | W 78–69 | 24–6 | Reno Events Center Reno, NV |
| Mar 09, 2018 1:05 pm, ELVN | (1) | vs. (5) Idaho State Semifinals | W 73–66 | 25–6 | Reno Events Center Reno, NV |
| Mar 10, 2018 1:05 pm, ELVN | (1) | vs. (2) Idaho Championship Game | W 91–69 | 26–6 | Reno Events Center Reno, NV |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | (10 L) | vs. (7 L) Michigan First round | L 61–75 | 26–7 | Ferrell Center Waco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington Region. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | No Change |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |