GAME NOTES (PDF)

Note: The NAU women's basketball game at 2 p.m. today vs Utah Valley will be played as scheduled in Rolle Activity Center. The game will not be ticketed for all fans and please use caution when traveling to the NAU campus.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Following a 13-day layoff through the end of the Fall semester and finals week, the NAU women's basketball team (1-7) will return to action hosting Utah Valley (2-9) at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Rolle Activity Center. The game will be the final nonconference contest of the season for the Lumberjacks before they open Big Sky play next week in Montana.

The game will be the first for sophomore center Raven Anderson since she recorded career highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds for her first career double-double in NAU's last game at UC Riverside on Dec. 2. Making her fourth start of the season, Anderson shot 50% from the field en route to her career-best day while pulling down seven boards each on both the offensive and defensive glass and playing a career-high 33 minutes. Her great numbers did not result in a win, however, as the Lumberjacks came up short against the Highlanders.

"I honestly didn't know I had 18 points until maybe the last minute of the game," said Anderson on the Lumberjack's Weekly podcast. "I wanted to win that game so bad and to see that we just couldn't pull it together was hard but we did learn a lot from that game. It's not about me having a good game but wanting to win."

The setback at UC Riverside came after the Lumberjacks earned their first win for head coach Sue Darling, using a season-best defensive effort to score a 55-54 victory at Cal State Fullerton. Anderson contributed eight points and seven rebounds off the bench in that game for her fifth game this year with at least eight points and six boards.

Anderson now ranks third in the Big Sky with 3.8 offensive rebounds per game and is eighth in the conference with a .478 season field goal percentage. She has averaged 10.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game thus far in 2012-13 and is second on the team with 17 free-throw makes this season while averaging 22.3 minutes per game after playing just 7.1 minutes per game during her freshman season.

"I think I have more confidence now," Anderson said. "Last year (it was different) coming to a team with players that are just as good as you are if not better, so you have to find your niche and what makes you stand out. This year I feel like I have a better grasp and I have a lot more confidence on the floor. My coach has more confidence in me so that helps a lot as well. "

Anderson showed her potential in limited action during her rookie campaign, as she ranked second on the team with a .488 season field goal percentage while totaling 50 points, 38 rebounds, five blocks and five steals in 19 games. She has shown significant improvement this season in two areas in which she struggled last year, improving her free-throw percentage from 33% to 65% and significantly reducing her turnovers per minutes played.

With the team still developing its identity as it prepares for the conference season, the 13-day layoff between games provided the Lumberjacks with the opportunity to not only rest and focus on their school work but to make the adjustments necessary to have a successful conference season.

"These past two weeks have been hard in practice as we've been doing a lot of running to prepare for this game," Anderson said. "I'm really excited; we've imputed a lot of different things to hopefully help better our game. We've imputed some new offensive plays and some of our presses have been changed around and I really think it's going to be great."

The game on Saturday represents NAU's only home contest between Nov. 24 and Jan. 10 as the team will end 2012 and open conference play with three straight road games. A native of Tempe, Ariz. and a former standout at Chandler High School, Anderson often has friends and family in the stands and knows of the importance for her team to have strong support from their home fans.

"I don't think people realize how much support is key," Anderson said. "When we have fans and they're cheering you on it really does help. Our support system with our fans is a huge deal for us so we really appreciate when people come out to the games."

The game on Saturday will be broadcast live on 105.1 FM The Big Talker in northern Arizona, online on bigtalkerradio.com, and on The Big Talker mobile app with NAU assistant media relations director Andrew Tomsky and Kara Hammer providing the play-by-play call. The radio broadcast will also be simulcast with a free live video stream on Big Sky TV and links to the broadcasts as well as live stats and complete game notes can be found above.