POCATELLO, Idaho – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team and Idaho State traded runs in the third quarter, but the Bengals got the last – and largest – run of them all to separate themselves for a 71-61 victory. NAU closed to within four points in the fourth quarter after trailing by as much as a dozen, yet ultimately dropped its fifth straight game. The 'Jacks are now 6-19 for the season and carry a 2-12 Big Sky record.

"I thought we played hard and battled them," said head coach Sue Darling. "We were even in all the stat categories except there was a major (disadvantage) and that's the fact that they outrebounded us. That was the difference in the ball game. We got in a little foul trouble and that hurt as well, but other than that they battled a little harder than we did."

The game could not have gotten off to a better start for the Lumberjacks led by the early hot hand of junior Rene Coggins. Coggins forced an early ISU timeout after hitting three shots in the opening four minutes allowing NAU to jump out 9-4. The Lumberjacks maintained their advantage, 15-9, into the second quarter and held an eight-point lead of 19-11 in the opening minutes of the period. There, Idaho State roared back to tie the game at 20-all courtesy of a 9-1 run and led 29-27 going into halftime.

Despite shooting only 31 percent in the first half, NAU's defensive efforts kept the 'Jacks in the game as they suffocated the Bengals into 29.4 percent shooting themselves. However, the tide turned quickly after halftime as Idaho State shot 53.6 percent in the final 20 minutes to snag the win.

Coming out of the break, NAU took the 34-33 lead with a 7-0 run capped by junior Bradlee Cotton's layup, that answered a quick four-point surge by the Bengals. The 'Jacks were unable to keep the momentum on their side though, as the Bengals immediately answered with a 14-1 run over the next five minutes to take their biggest lead of the game, 47-35.

The Lumberjacks made two runs in the fourth quarter to climb back into the game, first getting five points from freshman Alyssa Rader to slice their deficit in half to 52-46 with 8:18 to play. Then freshman Kaleigh Paplow had a personal 6-0 run by herself to get the Lumberjacks within 56-52, with six minutes remaining. NAU stayed within four points at 60-56 with 4:12 left, but five straight points by Idaho State all but sealed the deal.

While Idaho State found its rhythm in the second half, NAU shot just 32.4 percent to finish the game at 31.7 percent. The Lumberjacks kept their turnovers to a minimum – in fact turning the ball over a season-low 10 times – but they were outrebounded by a wide 46-34 margin.

Junior Taylor Leyva led three Lumberjacks in double-figures with 15 points, with Paplow scoring 12 and Coggins finishing with 10. Junior Catelyn Preston pulled down a season-high eight rebounds, and Cotton contributed seven points off the bench.

NAU wraps up the week on Saturday at Weber State. Tip-off versus the Wildcats is 2 p.m.