MUNCIE, Ind. – Northern Arizona women's basketball dropped another close game on Saturday with a 74-69 loss to Ball State at Worthen Arena. The Lumberjacks last two games have been decided by a combined six points. Amy Patton led NAU with 26 points off the bench, her second game this season with 25 points or more.

“We did a lot of really good things tonight to put ourselves in a position to win this basketball game,” said head coach Laurie Kelly. “Ball State is a very good basketball team. They made the plays down the stretch to put it away.”

NAU (0-4) used its fourth different starting lineup of the season playing three forwards against Ball State's frontcourt which stands 6-3, 6-1, and 6-1. The Lumberjacks came out and shot a season-best 46.4-percent from the field after a disappointing one-point loss to UMKC on Thursday.

“This was a great ballgame,” said Kelly. “It was neck-and-neck most of the way. There were different lead changes and ties and it was close throughout. They got up once in the first half by 11 on a good run, but I am proud of how we came back. We got composed and started taking care of the ball.”

NAU entered the half down just 36-32 and played Ball State (1-2) close in the second half staying within a point of the Cardinals over the final 20 minutes (38-37). NAU totaled a season-best 69 points with 42 bench points including Patton's game-high 26, who was the only Lumberjack in double-figures.

“Amy Patton played great for us offensively once again,” Kelly said. “Our bench was great tonight. We played 11 people tonight which I love. The last few games we have played athletic teams who have used a guard at the four spot. We were able to use some of our good post players on the bench against Ball State because they play true post players.”

After Ball State led for the entire first half, the Lumberjacks played an aggressive second half in a period that provided eight lead changes and five tied scores. NAU held a one-point edge at 64-63 with 4:24 left on the clock, but a 7-0 run put Ball State up for the remainder of the game.

“Ball State beat Tennessee last year in the first round of the NCAA tournament,” Kelly said. “They are a very good basketball team and very good at home. They played their entire conference season last year without a loss at home. We played good enough to win, but we did not make the plays or get the rebounds down the stretch.

We have been better every single game we played. It would have been nice to pull out a win on this road trip, but if we continue to improve like we have been we will be a very good Big Sky team. We cannot get complacent and need to continue to stay focused.”

For the game, NAU shot 40.4-percent from the field, its fourth-consecutive game shooting over 40-percent. Ball State shot 43.3-percent from the field and had big performances from Emily Maggert who scored 21 points and Patrice King who added 15.

NAU will play New Mexico at “The Pit” on Tuesday, November 24 at 7 p.m. in Albuquerque, N. M. Tuesday's game will complete a five-game road trip to open the season for the Lumberjacks. NAU will host its annual Thanksgiving Classic next week on Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28 welcoming Belmont, Oregon State and Siena to The Mountain Campus.