FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team (6-18, 2-11 Big Sky) outshot Montana from three, made more free throws and held a commanding rebounding advantage. The Lady Griz went scoreless for eight and a half minutes, and yet they still withstood the Lumberjacks' comeback efforts to hold on for a 61-57 victory in the Walkup Skydome Saturday night.

"We held them to seven points in the fourth quarter and that was fantastic, but we just did not capitalize," said head coach Sue Darling. "We couldn't capitalize on their mistakes and we came up short. Our defense in the second half was a lot better than in the first half. We had tenacity and team work, but we had a lull in the first half when they knocked down open looks and those were the baskets that put them over the edge."

The game was there for the Lumberjacks' taking in the fourth quarter, when the Lady Griz failed to make a shot from the field in the final 8:49 of the game. Ahead 54-43 going into the final period, Montana held a 58-44 lead following a layup – its final made field goal of the contest – before junior Bradlee Cotton and freshman Kaleigh Paplow answered with consecutive buckets.

Following a Montana timeout, junior Taylor Leyva's three-point shot found nothing but net to pull NAU within 58-51 with just under seven minutes to play. However, neither team could tickle the twine for nearly five minutes. During scoreless play until Leyva finally got a layup to fall with 2:04 left, Montana missed seven shots and NAU missed six of its own. The teams also combined for five turnovers in that span.

The Lady Griz finally put an end to their drought with a free throw to extend its lead to 59-54 with 16 seconds left, only for junior Catelyn Preston to knock down a three to bring the 'Jacks within a single possession with 10 seconds left. The game would end with two free throws by Montana, as the defending Big Sky champions survived a disastrous fourth quarter in which it show just 2-for-13 from the field.

Paplow notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Alyssa Rader also recorded a double-double of her own – her 12th of the season – with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Rader's layup with 2:13 on the first quarter clock provided NAU with its final lead of the game, 14-12, which preceded an 8-0 Montana run that had the Lumberjacks playing from behind. The Lady Griz then used a 7-0 spurt to push their lead out to 27-18 midway through the second quarter and eventually went into halftime with a 33-27 advantage.

The Lumberjacks allowed the Lady Griz to shoot 50 percent in the first half and 66.7 percent from behind the arc, but NAU clamped down defensively in the second half. Montana's shooting percentage fell to 33.3 percent and it made just one of its final seven attempts from long distance, yet it was not enough for NAU to fully overcome its first half deficit – which grew to as much as 15 in the third quarter.

Rader and Leyva were sparks on the defensive end, each tallying career-highs. Rader rejected a career-best five shots, while Leyva – who also reached double-figures with 11 points – got her hand on five steals.

While the Lumberjacks shot 38.8 percent for the game compared to the Lady Griz's 41 percent, NAU made 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from three-point range. NAU made two more three-pointers than Montana and was also plus-three at the free throw line, in addition to claiming a 40-31 rebounding advantage with the 31 Montana rebounds being an opponent-low during conference play.

The Lumberjacks head out on the road to Pocatello, Idaho for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 18 versus Idaho State looking to complete the season sweep of the Bengals. NAU defeated Idaho State, 63-62, on Jan. 30 in the Skydome. NAU will also face Weber State on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Ogden, Utah at 2 p.m. on its upcoming road trip.