GAME NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Just one road trip - albeit an arduous one - stands between the Northern Arizona women's basketball team and the start of the Big Sky schedule at the end of the month. NAU opens up by heading east to Youngstown State for an 11 a.m. MST tip-off on Saturday before traveling back west for a Monday night showdown with CSUN at 8 p.m. MST.

The Lumberjacks are hoping a road trip will help them stem the tide before heading into conference after falling to 3-6 this season with a 72-54 loss to Grand Canyon on Thursday. NAU's Field Trip Day loss closed a three-game homestand in which the 'Jacks went 1-2. Redshirt freshman Brianna Lehew tied Lucero for team-high honors with 13 points off the bench on Thursday, marking her first career double-digit scoring game.

NAU also saw the return of redshirt senior Kenna McDavis, who missed last Saturday's game versus Cal Poly with an injury. McDavis posted seven points and eight rebounds and is still averaging a double-double with 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season.

Despite their lowest scoring game of the season on Thursday, and the first in which they scored fewer than 60 points, NAU still ranks first in the Big Sky with 77.1 points per game which is buoyed by a .426 field goal percentage.

Fans can catch Saturday's game versus Youngstown State - just the program's second game all-time in the state of Ohio - on ESPN 3 and the Watch ESPN app. Monday's game at CSUN will also be streamed online at this link.

Defend the Arc: A month into the season, an early indication of wins and losses has been determined behind the arc. In NAU's three victories, the Lumberjacks have held their opponents to only 17.3 percent three-point shooting with opponents averaging only 4.3 makes per game. In NAU's six losses, opponent three-point shooting leaps up to 40.8 percent at an average of 9.7 made treys.

Familiar Foes: The Lumberjacks faced both Youngstown State and CSUN back-to-back last season with both games at home. NAU defeated Youngstown State convincingly, 70-48, on Nov. 28, 2016 with Lucero recording 23 points and nine rebounds. CSUN got the best of NAU three days later, 83-79. The Matadors hit 11 three-pointers in the win.

NAU Quick Hits: NAU ranks fourth in the Big Sky in both field goal offense (.426) and field goal defense (.379)...The Lumberjacks continue to rank second in the conference with 43.3 rebounds per game...NAU is one of three schools with a pair of players in the top 10 of the conference in rebounding...McDavis ranks first with 10.1 rebounds per game and junior Kaleigh Paplow is tied for sixth with 7.4 per game...Paplow also ranks second with a .552 field goal percentage...Freshman Khiarica Rasheed has started each of the last three games.

About Youngstown State: Youngstown State owns a 2-7 record this season and has dropped five consecutive games since winning two in a row. The Penguins, voted eighth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, lost to Saint Francis U, 79-65, last Saturday to cap a four-game road trip. Alison Smolinski is one of three Penguins scoring in double-digits with a team-best 11.4 points per game. She has made a team-best 24 three-pointers and is shooting 40.7 percent behind the arc. Indiya Benjamin ranks second on the team with 10.8 points per game and leads Youngstown State with 4.6 assists per game. She owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8. Youngstown State averages only 63.1 points per game as a tea despite making nine three-pointers per contest. The Penguins only average 32.7 rebounds per game though and their opponents are shooting 43.1 percent from the field.

About CSUN: CSUN has been on a roll of late, winning three straight and four of its last five to sit at 4-6 overall. The Matadors defeated San Jose State, 76-59, and Loyola Marymount, 75-68, on the road most recently and were picked second in the preseason Big West polls. Channon Fluker is averaging a double-double with team-highs of 18.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. She is shooting 56.1 percent from the field and was named to the preseason Big West All-Conference teams. Tessa Boagni gives the Matadors a formidable frontcourt with averages of 10.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 48.8 percent shooting. CSUN is averaging 65.9 points per game while allowing 68.9 per game, but the Matadors crush their opponents on the glass by a margin of plus-12.5 per game. They allow only 33.5 boards on average to their opponents.