IRVINE, Calif. – Junior Brittani Lusain and freshman Alyssa Rader both reached the 20-point mark and senior Monique Mulder played the role of closer in the Northern Arizona women's basketball team's 71-55 victory at UC Irvine on Friday. The Lumberjacks dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Anteaters 26-11 in the final 10 minutes, to earn their first non-conference road victory in nearly two years to the date.

Behind a commanding effort in the final period, the Lumberjacks – now 3-4 this season – snapped a nine-game road non-conference skid since defeating UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 5, 2013.

"It's always great to win on the road and while Irvine might not have a great record right now, they have a quality team," said head coach Sue Darling. "We started really strong and then we got down. I really liked our ability to hold our ground and deliver where we needed to when it counted (in the fourth quarter). We got stops during our run back and then we did a nice job of finding each other in the offense to get great shots."

Lusain tied her career-high for the third time leading all players with 25 points. She also set a new career-high with 11 field goals made with a highly efficient 11-for-17 showing from the field. Speaking of efficient, Rader was nearly unstoppable inside converting on 10-of-14 attempts to score 22 points, recording her first 20-point game of her career.

Rader scored almost half of her points in the first quarter, reaching double-figures with 10 in helping NAU build a 20-10 lead after one period. The 'Jacks jumped out to a 6-0 lead, only to see the Anteaters score the next eight points. Junior Rene Coggins then hit her first of two three-pointers to end UCI's 8-0 run, which then in turn started an 11-2 NAU run to end the quarter.

NAU maintained a comfortable lead for the first five minutes of the second quarter, but the home team closed to one at 28-27 with 3:11 remaining. Consecutive layups by Lusain and Rader helped NAU salvage a 32-27 lead into halftime, yet the Anteaters continued their momentum after the intermission.

A 10-1 UC Irvine run over a three-minute span pushed the Anteaters in front and gave them their biggest lead of the game, 44-38, with 1:27 left in the third quarter. However, the Lumberjacks closed with a 6-0 run with senior Mariah Willadsen providing the exclamation point after corralling a long rebound with five seconds and going coast to coast to hit a buzzer beater off the glass.

The 'Jacks used the last 87 seconds in the third to set the stage in the fourth with Mulder and Lusain leading the way. A game after scoring a career-high 21 points versus New Mexico Highlands, Mulder netted 11 of her 12 points on Friday in the fourth, while Lusain also chipped in 11 in the final 10 minutes. NAU used an 8-0 run midway through to regain its 10-point lead, 60-50, with 3:19 remaining and eventually pull away with the victory.

"It was a great team win especially being down six with a minute to go in the third," Rader said. "UC Irvine jumped on us and we weren't really ready, but the comeback will boost our confidence especially since we have another road game coming up against a Pac-12 team (Colorado) next week."

NAU shot 48.3 percent for the game from the floor, including a 69.2 percent clip in the fourth quarter. While the Lumberjacks struggled from the free throw line shooting just 46.2 percent, they excelled on the glass once again outrebounding their opponent, 42-35, and limited their turnovers to a season-low 13.

Lusain wrapped up the night with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals to go along with her 25 points. Rader notched her fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds to go with her 22 points. Mulder added five rebounds, three assists and two steals to her line.

"We took a real step forward tonight," Darling said. "Our game is maturing and you can do a lot of things when you play as a mature team. We made a lot of the right plays at the right time both offensively and defensively. Our free throws were a downer, but other than that it was a fantastic team effort."

The Lumberjacks will next take on Colorado at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Dec. 9. Of NAU's final four non-conference games, three will be on the road against teams from the Power Five conferences starting with Wednesday's contest in Boulder, Colo.