CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington pressured the Northern Arizona women's basketball team during a game-changing 10-2 run in the third quarter, and then staved off a late Lumberjack rally to hold on for a 72-65 victory Thursday night. Freshman Alyssa Rader and the 'Jacks gave the conference co-leading Eagles all they could handle, but in the end their record tumbled to 6-15 overall and 2-8 in the Big Sky.

"I am proud of our effort and for the most part we played well enough to win," said head coach Sue Darling. "But we had too many turnovers in the third quarter and that was the difference in this ball game. I was really proud of Rene Coggins; she did a masterful job of guarding Hayley Hodgins, but we didn't do a good enough job of guarding the paint. If we play better defense and don't turn the ball over, we'll start to see W's."

Rader had her second consecutive monster game, posting 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists and nailed down her 11th double-double of the season by halftime. She posted 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone, and was the driving force behind a 26-24 intermission lead for NAU.

The back-and-forth game on the scoreboard was still in NAU's favor midway through the third quarter when junior Taylor Leyva's jumper put the Lumberjacks in front, 36-35, before the Eagles turned to a full-court press. Eastern Washington's pressure led to three NAU turnovers over a two and a half minute span during its momentum-stealing run that gave the home team a seven-point lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.

The Lumberjacks, who fell behind by as much as 14 in the final period, did not go quietly into the night though as they charged back to get within three with under a minute remaining. A 7-0 run capped by an offensive putback from junior Catelyn Preston cut Eastern Washington's lead to 68-65, and NAU nearly got the defensive stop it needed on the ensuing possession. However, an Eagle offensive rebound led to a dagger three-pointer as the shot clock expired to push Eastern Washington's lead to six with 20 seconds left, allowing EWU to come away with the win.

The first half featured nine lead changes and six ties with both teams struggling to put the ball in the basket. Neither team shot better than 34 percent in the opening 20 minutes, allowing Rader to assert herself in the paint. In large part to NAU's efforts on the offensive glass, the Lumberjacks held a two-point lead at the conclusion of the first quarter and maintained that into halftime with a plus-eight advantage in second chance points.

After Eastern Washington took the lead for good in the third quarter, freshman Kaleigh Paplow did her best to will NAU back into the game, scoring 10 of her 15 points on the evening in the final quarter. Unfortunately a valiant effort by the 'Jacks did not yield a win.

Both teams found their offensive grooves in the second half shooting upwards of 46 percent from the floor. The Eagles shot 53.3 percent after halftime and committed just six second half turnovers and opening the game with 10 in overcoming their halftime deficit. NAU finished the game at just a 37.5 percent clip and made just 1-of-14 from three-point range, yet it outrebounded Eastern Washington, 44-39, and finished plus-16 in points in the paint and plus-nine on second chance points.

Rader's 24 points were three shy of her season-best, and her highest total in conference play. Her 15 rebounds equaled her season-high. Along with Paplow, Leyva also tallied 15 points in the loss and came up one rebound shy of recording her first career double-double.

NAU will make the short drive to Moscow, Idaho to face Idaho on Saturday at 3 p.m. Arizona time to conclude its weekend road trip.