FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Sure, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team dropped their season opener Friday night, 96-93, to UC Santa Barbara. But there were two main takeaways. The Lumberjacks are going to be fun to watch this season, and their three leading returners will be relied on heavily.
In head coach
Loree Payne's debut, the 'Jacks lived up to what she has been selling as NAU's 93 points are the most by any Lumberjack squad in a season opener in school history. Unfortunately, NAU's offensive barrage came up just short with UC Santa Barbara knocking down a decisive 14 three-pointers to spoil what was an entertaining first showing in front of an attendance of 603 in the Rolle Activity Center.
"Offensively, it went very much according to plan," Payne said. "Defensively, they caught fire. They made 14 threes and I feel a lot were contested, but they were knocking down shots. We had a couple of lulls defensively that put us in a tough position."
Redshirt seniors
Kenna McDavis and
Olivia Lucero and junior
Kaleigh Paplow showed that the 'Jacks may have a trio that will rival anyone in the Big Sky if Friday night becomes routine. The three captains combined to play 114 out of 120 possible minutes, but all produced double-doubles.
Lucero ran the show, and accompanying her game-high 26 points were a career-high 11 assists. McDavis set career-highs with 21 points and 13 rebounds, notching her first career double-double, while Paplow tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds in addition to a career-high tying six assists.
"For us we want to go deeper into our bench, but we have three very experienced players who we are comfortable having on the floor," Payne said. "Right now, we're trying to figure out that next rotation. Olivia, Kenna and Kaleigh all had double-doubles tonight and I was very impressed with them and their leadership on the floor."
Payne's up-tempo philosophy was on full display from the opening tip, as the pace led to NAU's 47.4 percent shooting and a commanding 12-3 advantage in fast break points. The Lumberjacks also outrebounded the Gauchos, 43-38, and turned the ball over just five times – the third fewest in a game in school history.
However, the Gauchos pulled off the win behind the arc by shooting 14-of-30 and netting a plus-21 advantage in long distance points.
UC Santa Barbara's three-point shooting started in the first quarter, hitting 7-of-10 in the initial 10 minutes of the game. The Gauchos led 27-21 going into the second quarter, but the Lumberjacks would take a 47-45 lead into halftime with McDavis and Lucero both reaching double-figures with 12 and 11 points respectively at the break.
The key run of the game, as small as it was, came in the third quarter. After McDavis converted on a jumper to give NAU a 66-65 lead with three minutes remaining in the third, UC Santa Barbara used a quick 8-2 surge in just over a minute to seize the lead for good.
The 'Jacks played from behind the rest of the way, but slowly chipped away in the final 30 seconds to give themselves a chance. Down by six at 91-85 with 35 seconds remaining, NAU got two layups from Lucero, one from McDavis and one from freshman
Khiarica Rasheed while hoping UC Santa Barbara would miss at the line. The miss finally came as the Gauchos hit one of two to make it a 96-93 margin with six seconds left, but the Lumberjacks could not get a potential game-tying three off before the final buzzer sounded.
"We didn't come away with the win, but we learned a lot and grew a lot as a team," said McDavis, who accounted for five of NAU's seven made three-pointers. "Our younger players got their first game jitters out of the way, and they gained confidence. Loss aside, it was a lot of fun. I haven't had that much fun playing basketball in a long time."
Also shining for NAU was sophomore
Peyton Carroll, who added a dozen points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting in her first career start. Rasheed recorded four points and six rebounds and freshman
Kaprice Boston was the high scorer off the bench with eight points in their collegiate debuts.
It all added up to a positive night, result aside, for a Lumberjack program looking to turn a new page on a disappointing last decade.
"The 7,000's was going, the band was awesome," Payne said. "It was an incredible atmosphere and that's the energy we want to bring. As a competitor, we often measure things based on wins and losses, but there's been huge growth and perspective will be a big piece for us moving forward."
The Lumberjacks host Rice, who beat Grand Canyon 69-59 in its first game of the season, on Sunday in the Rolle Activity Center at 1 p.m.
