Game Information:

Opponent: UTEP (Wednesday, Nov. 19/7:00 p.m.)

Location: El Paso, Texas

Opponent: UC Santa Barbara (Sunday, Nov. 23/2:00 p.m.)

Location: Rolle Activity Center - Flagstaff, Ariz.

GAME NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - After two games at home, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team will head out on the road for a quick road trip - its first of the season - on Wednesday at UTEP with tip-off at 7 p.m. The Lumberjacks will then return home for their fourth game in nine days to begin the season on Sunday, Nov. 23 versus UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m.

Follow the Action:

• Wednesday's game at UTEP will have a live stream at www.utepathletics.com.
• Sunday's game versus UC Santa Barbara will be available online at www.watchbigsky.com and the Watch Big Sky App. 
• For all live stat and video/audio links all season long, visit the NAU Women's basketball schedule page.

Sue Darling's Thoughts: "We set our non-conference schedule to reflect conference play so where there will always be a quick turnaround. We know coming into the season that we'd have three quick games and our practice has been set up to prepare us for that. We are striving to be better today than we were yesterday. We're going to see continual improvement throughout the season. Sunday was a hiccup, it wasn't reflective of our M.O. of playing hard and playing together. Friday wasn't pretty offensively, but we definitely played hard and we definitely played together and that is Lumberjack basketball."

Previewing The 'Jacks: The Lumberjacks face a quick turnaround after splitting their opening weekend at home where they defeated UC Irvine, 66-35, for their first season opening victory since 2007. NAU was unable to pull off an undefeated weekend though as it fell narrowly to Western New Mexico, 58-54, to enter this week with a 1-1 record. Senior Raven Anderson led the Lumberjacks this past weekend with 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 60.9 percent from the field. Senior Erikka Banks averaged 11.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game and sophomore Brittani Lusain averaged 13.0 points per game. NAU struggled as a team offensively shooting only 35.3 percent from the field, but held its two opponents to a combined 28.8 percent from the field and just 46.5 points per game.

Scouting UTEP: UTEP split its season opening games last weekend, first defeating New Mexico State at home, 78-73, before suffering a close 63-59 loss at SMU. The Miners, picked fourth in the preseason Conference USA poll after a WNIT runner-up finish last season, was led by junior Cameasha Turner last weekend after she averaged 24.0 points per game while posting a 58.6 field goal percentage. Turner also averaged 5.5 rebounds and three steals in the two contests. Senior Stacie Telles also averaged double-figures at 11.0 points per game while freshman Daeshi McCants totaled five blocks off the bench in the first two games of the season. As a team, the Miners are averaging 68.5 points per game and shooting 38.7 percent from the field.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara: UC Santa Barbara only played one game, a 71-58 loss at Nevada, during the first weekend of the 2014-15 season but will play a pair of home games this week before traveling to Flagstaff. The Gauchos will play Big Sky opponent Idaho Monday night and Santa Clara on Thursday. UC Santa Barbara was picked ninth in the Big West Conference preseason poll. Three Gauchos scored in double-figures against Nevada led by junior Jasmine Ware and sophomore Onome Jemerigbe who both recorded a team-high 11 points. Senior Clair Watkins posted 10 points and eight rebounds. UCSB shot just 27.9 percent from the field in the loss but did shoot a high clip of 80 percent at the free-throw line.

Series History: 

• NAU and UTEP will be meeting for the 20th time in school history. NAU leads the all-time series 10-9. UTEP won the last meeting, 92-43, last season on Nov. 22 in El Paso.
• NAU and UC Santa Barbara will be meeting for the fourth time in school history. NAU leads the all-time series 2-1. NAU won last meeting, 79-56, last season on Dec. 5 in Santa Barbara.

N-A-U Should Know: 

• The Lumberjacks were picked 10th in both the Big Sky Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
• Senior Erikka Banks ranks second in the Big Sky with 13.0 rebounds per game. Senior Raven Anderson ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 16.0 points per game.
• As a team, NAU ranks second in the conference in rebounding at 50.0 per game.
• The Lumberjacks posted one of the best defensive performances in school history against UC Irvine on Nov. 14 in their 66-35 season-opening victory. The 35 points allowed was the lowest point total by an NAU opponent in exactly eight years to the date since a 72-32 victory against Western New Mexico on Nov. 14, 2006. Against Division I opponents, the last time NAU allowed fewer points was Jan. 19, 2002 spanning 348 games since a 101-29 win against Sacramento State.
• The 2014-15 non-conference schedule is filled with familiar faces with six of the team's 11 opponents making an appearance on the Lumberjacks' slate for the second straight season. Returning opponents include UTEP (Nov. 19), UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 23), UT Arlington (Nov. 26), Loyola Marymount (Dec. 3), Pepperdine (Dec. 16) and CSUN (Dec. 18). Last season, NAU compiled a 2-4 record against these six opponents earning wins against UC Santa Barbara (road) and UT Arlington (home).

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