FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona women's basketball lost in its Big Sky Conference home opener 66-52 against Eastern Washington on Thursday night in the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks were playing their first game in the Walkup Skydome after playing its first three home games at the Rolle Activity Center.

NAU (3-14, 1-3 BSC) played Eastern Washington (10-6, 4-0 BSC) close in the first half leading by two with five minutes to play. The Eagles would open up a nine-point halftime lead though as the Lumberjacks went scoreless in those final five minutes.

Eastern Washington was able to push its lead to double digits early in the second half and held it for the remainder of the game preventing the Lumberjacks from mounting any kind of comeback.

“When we needed to try and battle back in the game we could not get defensive stops,” said head coach Laurie Kelly. “It never felt like the team was ever really clicking. We tried different lineups. We tried different offenses. We never got on a run and we got beat on the glass. Eastern Washington was the better team tonight.”

NAU received a boost from its reserves with Tiffany Amos turning in a team-high 13 points and Tyler Stephens-Jenkins chipping in 11 points. Thursday's game marked the first time this year that no player in the Lumberjack's starting lineup reached double figures.

“The little things right now are keeping us from doing what we need to do,” Kelly said. “We missed too many layups and could not get anything going in transition. On the defensive end, we gave up too many easy baskets inside and got beat on the glass.”

Eastern Washington's Tatjana Sparavalo recorded a team-high 13 points and was the only player in double figures. The Eagles outshot NAU 44.3-percent to 32.8-percent for the game.

“Eastern Washington is a good team,” said Kelly. “They had one player in double figures but a bunch others with six and seven points. They have a lot of balance. They are a team that has not made the tournament the last two years and are determined to make a statement.

"You can't afford to lose games at home in the Big Sky. We are giving away opportunities right now. If we don't have the sense of urgency to make changes I don't know how we are going to turn the corner.”

The Lumberjacks will face another tough test on Saturday with Portland State who was tied with Eastern Washington for the Big Sky's best record with a 3-0 mark to open the conference season. The game is scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. tip-off in the Walkup Skydome.