BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team was unable to hold a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter as Montana State stormed back to send the game into overtime in the final seconds of regulation before pulling out an 86-77 win on Saturday in the Worthington Arena. The 'Jacks turned the ball over nine times and missed nine free throws in the final period in falling to 4-9 overall and closing out the first weekend of conference play with a 0-2 mark.

"Rene (Coggins) and Taylor (Leyva) played really great games today and we shot well from the three," said head coach Sue Darling. "But at the end of the day, you have to play four quarters and Montana State absolutely outscored us in the fourth quarter. We had too many turnovers in the fourth quarter and we shot very poorly from the free throw line. There are games when another team plays better, but today we beat ourselves."

Juniors Rene Coggins and Taylor Leyva led the Lumberjacks throughout the game with Leyva having a career-best performance. Coggins continued her torrid shooting of late, netting 19 points for the second consecutive game on 7-for-15 shooting including 3-for-6 from long distance. She also matched her career-high of six rebounds. Leyva, making her first start since the final two games of her freshman year, responded by scoring a career-high 17 points and also pulling down a career-high tying eight rebounds.

While the Lumberjacks got major contributions from Coggins and Leyva, as well as a host of other players, they let their advantage slip away as regulation ticked away. Entering the fourth quarter with a 53-41 lead, junior Catelyn Preston and senior Mariah Willadsen knocked down the first two baskets of the fourth to give NAU its largest lead of the game of 17 with 8:57 remaining in the period.

NAU still managed to hold onto a 66-51 lead with 3:15 left in the quarter before Montana State applied the pressure on the Lumberjacks. Utilizing a full court press and an offense that awakened, the Bobcats roared back to tie the game at 71-71 with a three-pointer with seven seconds left on the clock. On the prior possession, senior Monique Mulder split her attempts at the charity stripe to put NAU up by three as the 'Jacks shot just 5-for-12 from the line in the final three minutes of the game.

Montana State scored the first four points of overtime, but a shot off the glass with the shot clock winding down by freshman Kaleigh Paplow tied the game at 75-all with 2:14 remaining. The Bobcats then scored the next seven points and iced the game with a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the free throw line to clinch the rapid come-from-behind win.

NAU dominated the middle quarters after trailing 18-11 following the first 10 minutes of play. A triple by Coggins put NAU in front 25-24 with 4:30 on the clock before half and the Lumberjacks took a 32-28 lead into the intermission. One quarter after outscoring the Bobcats 21-10 in the second, the Lumberjacks then outscored the Bobcats by eight in the third quarter in a game they wish they had back.

Leyva came alive in the third quarter recording 11 points and six rebounds in the stanza alone, as she also set a new career-high in field goals made (5), free throws made (5) and tying her career-high of two three-pointers made.

Outside of Leyva and Coggins – who is 12-for-15 from behind the arc in the last three games – NAU received strong performances by redshirt junior Shay Young and Paplow in reserve. Young recorded nine points and five rebounds while Paplow matched her season-best with eight points along with five boards herself.

NAU held the shooting edge against Montana State by shooting 43.8 percent for the game. The Bobcats, who entered the game shooting a Big Sky-best 42.9 percent, shot only 36.6 percent from the floor. The Lumberjacks also outrebounded the Bobcats, 51-47, setting a new season-high total for rebounds.

However, NAU shot just 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the line compared to 76.9 percent for Montana State and were once again plagued by turnovers. The Lumberjacks committed 24 turnovers – 14 more than Montana State – which led to 29 Bobcat points for a plus-20 margin in the category. The Bobcats were also plus-nine in second chance points with 18 offensive rebounds.

The Lumberjacks look for their first conference win next Saturday, Jan. 9 versus Southern Utah in the Walkup Skydome. The 2 p.m. tip-off will be the first of three consecutive home games for NAU, marking its longest homestand of the season. NAU has not played at home since a 68-66 win over Dixie State on Dec. 12.