BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Sophomore Khyra Conerly scored a career-high 24 points and junior Amy Patton posted her fourth 20-point scoring total over the last five games, but CSU Bakersfield broke open a close game early in the second half and held on for an 86-77 win on Sunday afternoon in Bakersfield, Calif. The non-conference game was the final road contest of the season for NAU, which dropped to 8-19 overall while the Roadrunners moved to 6-21.

"I thought we didn't do a very good job when it came to controlling the tempo," NAU head coach Laurie Kelly said. "They pretty much play five guards which gave us some challenges defensively with our posts having to play on the perimeter, and they were able to take advantage of that. They really pressured our guards on the offensive end and Khyra did a nice job getting to the rim and finishing."

Conerly surpassed her previous career-high scoring total of 17 with her 24-point performance, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. She also tied career-highs with five steals and two blocks while adding five rebounds and an assist with just one turnover. Patton posted seven boards to go with her 23 points, and sophomore Amanda Frost totaled a career-high eight rebounds along with 16 points and three assists.

The Roadrunners jumped to an early 6-2 lead before NAU leveled the score at 9, one of four ties in the first half. After CSU Bakersfield held a 22-19 lead midway through the half, the Roadrunners went scoreless for nearly three minutes as NAU used a 7-0 run to take a game-high four point lead at 26-22. The home team would rally back to build a 36-29 lead following a 14-3 run with 3:02 to play in the opening period, but NAU closed the half on a 7-2 spurt to trail by just two points at halftime.

The game would be tied at 50 following the opening 5:09 of the second half before the Roadrunners pulled away. NAU went scoreless for more than three minutes as CSU Bakersfield used an 11-0 run to take a 61-50 lead, its biggest advantage of the game. The Lumberjacks were able to cut the deficit to five points with 7:24 remaining, and would get as close as three points down at 76-73 with 1:25 to play. The Roadrunners went 10-for-10 from the free throw line through the remainder of the game while NAU could only get a pair of layups as the home team finished an 86-77 win.

NAU outshot CSUB 42.9% to 39% and had a 42-39 rebounding edge but was outscored 32-19 at the free throw line and made four less 3-pointers than the homsetanding Roadrunners. The Lumberjacks committed a season-high 32 fouls to allow 40 opponent free throws, though 10 of those attempts occurred in the final minutes of the contest as the visitors attempted to extend the game.

The Lumberjacks will end the season with a pair of home games, taking a week off before hosting Northern Colorado on Monday, Feb. 27, at 6:35 p.m. in Rolle Activity Center.