FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A Field Trip Day crowd of 1,240 was not enough to will the Northern Arizona women's basketball team to a victory to close their homestand, as Grand Canyon got the best of the Lumberjacks, 72-54, on Thursday morning. The Lopes dropped the Lumberjacks' record to 3-6 with two non-conference road games remaining before the start of conference play.
NAU hosted over a 1,000 kids from seven elementary schools – Cromer, DeMiguel, Kinsey, Knoles, Marshall, Sechrist and Thomas – within the Flagstaff Unified School District in the Fifth Annual Field Trip Day game. Preceded by outdoor activities, the kids provided an initial spark to the Lumberjacks with NAU hitting 7-of-14 in the first quarter, including three three-pointers.
After falling behind by seven early, sophomore
Peyton Carroll knocked down a pair of free throws to bring NAU within 21-20, only for Grand Canyon to close the first quarter with two triples. The Lumberjacks never got closer the rest of the game as the Lopes maintained their distance by hitting 10 three-pointers at a 43.5 percent clip.
Redshirt freshman
Brianna Lehew was a bright spot for NAU as she scored a career-high 13 points off the bench on 6-for-10 shooting. She also added seven boards to help the Lumberjacks hold a 40-34 advantage on the glass. Redshirt senior
Olivia Lucero matched Lehew's 13 points as the two were NAU's only two players in double-figures.
NAU's deficit stood at 39-28 at halftime as the Lumberjacks labored through their lowest scoring quarter of the season. NAU made just three field goals in the second quarter, and could not take advantage of Grand Canyon's own struggles with the Lopes still managing to extend their lead despite scoring just 12 points in the period.
Both teams regained their offensive stroke in the third quarter, but despite shooting 53.8 percent from the field NAU still lost ground as it went into the final period down 15. Still, the Lumberjacks trimmed off 10 points from their largest deficit of the game, 55-35, at the 5:14 mark of the third quarter to find themselves down only a dozen with five minutes remaining. However, Grand Canyon made all three pointers after being fouled on a long distance attempt to make it a 67-52 score with 3:59 left on the clock, and in all NAU scored just two points in the last five minutes.
The Lumberjacks shot just 35.2 percent for the game in their lowest scoring output of the season. Aside from a huge disparity in three-point shooting with GCU netting plus-21 points from behind the arc, the Lopes also were plus-six in turnover margin which led to a 17-11 edge in points off turnovers. That helped negate a 28-10 Lumberjack advantage in points in the paint, with Lehew spearheading the effort.
Junior
Kaleigh Paplow added eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while redshirt senior
Kenna McDavis returned from a one-game absence due to an injury to record seven points and eight boards.
NAU faces a quick turnaround with its last road trip before opening the Big Sky slate. The two-game road trip starts Saturday at Youngstown State at 11 a.m. MST – a game which can be seen on
ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
