BOX SCORE (PDF)

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Despite a season-high 19 points from junior Tyler Stephens-Jenkins and more made field goals than Montana State, NAU was outscored 27-11 at the free throw line and outrebounded 46-35 in a 77-65 loss to the Bobcats in Bozeman. NAU lost its ninth-consecutive game, equaling its longest losing streak in a season since 1992-93, while falling to 0-6 in the Big Sky and 5-13 overall. Montana State improved to 11-6 and 3-2 in conference play.

"I thought we played well and it was a great, competitive basketball game for the most part, but we had some mental breakdowns at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half that cost us the game," NAU head coach Laurie Kelly said. "We played really hard but went back to struggling from the free throw line, missing key free throws to keep the game close. I was pleased with our play for most of the game, but we let our guard down in that one bad stretch and they took advantage of us."

The Lumberjacks made four more field goals in the game than the Bobcats and shot 39% compared to Montana State's 37% shooting from the field, But 10 of the Bobcats' 20 made field goals in the game were three-pointers. MSU also made 27-of-35 free throws while NAU was 11-of-21 from the charity stripe.

NAU jumped to a 7-2 lead through the first 4:35 of the contest before Montana State went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-8 advantage. The teams remained within four points of each other, with Montana State holding a 28-27 advantage with 1:42 to play. The Bobcats would close the half on a 7-0 run, culminated by a three point buzzer beater by senior Katie Bussey, to take a 35-27 halftime lead.

Montana State picked up where it left off to open the second half, opening on a 7-0 run and extending its overall run to 14 consecutive points to build a 42-27 lead and a 15 point advantage. Down by 15 again at 44-29 with 16:41 to play, NAU rallied back with a 17-2 run over the next six minutes to tie the game at 46 with 10:39 remaining. The Lumberjacks could not take the lead, however, as Montana State responded with a 7-0 spurt. With a 56-50 advantage, the Bobcats tacked on an 11-2 run to build back to a 15 point lead at 67-52 with 3:58 to go. NAU could get no closer than eight points in the final minutes as the Bobcats made 10-of-10 free throws in the final 53 seconds to finish the 77-65 win.

Stephens-Jenkins shot 7-of-17 and hit a trio of three-pointers for her season-best 19 points while adding two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Junior Amy Patton was the only other Lumberjack in double-figures with 11 points, while sophomores Trinidee Trice and Shay May paced the team with six rebounds apiece. Freshman point guard Jasmine Sneed had the best game of her young career, totaling six points on 3-of-5 shooting and a team-high three assists in 20 minutes of action. Bussey scored a game-high 26 points and junior Rachel Semansky grabbed 18 rebounds for the victorious Bobcats.

NAU returns home to host Weber State at 6:35 p.m. Thursday in Rolle Activity Center.