FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 8, 2018) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team could not keep up with a high-octane New Mexico squad on Saturday, falling 84-55 in their first game in the Walkup Skydome this season. The Lumberjacks went into halftime trailing by just seven, but were subsequently outscored 23-9 in the third quarter by the 7-1 Lobos. With the loss, NAU's record stands even at 4-4.
"It was a tale of two halves," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We played very well in the first half and even missed a couple of layups; it probably should've been a one-point game going into halftime. We came out (of halftime) a completely different team. We lost our urgency and our toughness and resiliency went out the window when New Mexico went on a run. As a team, we need to figure out how to dig down when teams go on runs."
An 11-0 Lobo run to open the third quarter proved to be the haymaker that the 'Jacks could not recover from. The surge pushed New Mexico's halftime advantage of 37-30 out to 48-30 and it would be more than five minutes before senior
Kaleigh Paplow sunk NAU's first field goal of the second half.
After the New Mexico run, NAU trailed by double-figures the rest of the way with the Lumberjacks shooting just 15.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. For the game, NAU shot only 23.5 percent overall marking the third straight game in which the Lumberjacks have shot lower than 35 percent.
Meanwhile, the Lobos – winners of six straight – shot 40 percent overall. New Mexico did the bulk of its damage in the decisive second half, connecting on 47.4 percent from the field. New Mexico outrebounded NAU, 59-45, and held commanding advantages in points in the paint (44-16) and points off turnovers (17-6).
Freshman
Regan Schenck led the Lumberjacks with 12 points and was one of three 'Jacks to hit a pair of three-pointers. Paplow finished with 11 points, extending her double-digit scoring streak to eight games to begin the season.
NAU's offensive woes started from the beginning with the Lumberjacks only making 6-of-20 field goals in the first quarter. However, the 'Jacks kept it close by hitting four of their six three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes.
Redshirt sophomore
Caitlin Malvar's second triple of the game actually put NAU ahead, 13-7, five and a half minutes into the contest. New Mexico would close the quarter with seven straight points though to snag a 19-16 lead after one period.
After the Lobos' lead grew to 24-16 – their largest of the first half – the Lumberjacks answered by trimming the deficit down to one. An 8-2 run over a two-minute span brought the 'Jacks within 27-26 with five minutes left in the first half. New Mexico once again finished strong though, scoring 10 of the final 14 points to head into halftime with the seven-point advantage.
NAU's 45 rebounds – fueled by a team-high eight from sophomore
Lauren Orndoff – marked the second straight game in which the Lumberjacks set a new season-best on the glass. Six players grabbed at least five rebounds with NAU securing a season-high 14 offensive boards.
The Lumberjacks also shot well from the free throw, knocking down 17-of-23 at the charity stripe. It was the sixth game in which NAU shot better than 70 percent at the line this season.
NAU will play its non-conference finale on Friday, Dec. 21 at Arizona in Tucson before heading into Big Sky play. Tip-off from the McKale Center is slated for 6:30 p.m.
