| Northern Arizona at Sacramento State | at Portland State |
GAME NOTES (PDF)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Northern Arizona women's basketball team, winners of two of their last three games, make their final road trip before the conference tournament this week to face Sacramento State and Portland State. NAU and Sacramento State begin the penultimate week of the regular season on Thursday at 8 p.m. MST. The Lumberjacks will then take on Portland State on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST before flying back to Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks put together their best performance in over two months in a 79-59 victory over North Dakota in the Walkup Skydome last Saturday. Rebounding from an 85-63 loss to Northern Colorado last Thursday, NAU shot 45.9 percent overall and made a season-high 10 three-pointers to defeat the Fighting Hawks in the final Big Sky Conference meeting between the two teams.
In the win against North Dakota, redshirt senior Kenna McDavis tied her career-high with 27 points, matching the highest point total by a Lumberjack this season. McDavis drained seven three-pointers and her scoring average now sits at 15.0 points per game this season, which ranks second on the team. Freshman Khiarica Rasheed also set a new season-best with 17 points versus North Dakota. Over the last seven games, Rasheed is averaging 9.1 points per game with three games in double-figures.
Redshirt senior Olivia Lucero, who scored 18 points herself against North Dakota, is ninth in the Big Sky with a team-leading 16.7 points per game. She has scored in double-figures in 21 of 23 games she has appeared in this season and has scored at least 15 points in seven of her last eight games.
NAU has eclipsed 70 points in two of its last three games - both wins - and is seventh in the conference in overall scoring at 67.7 points per game. The Lumberjacks are allowing 74.2 points per game, but in their two recent victories, they have kept their opponents under 60 points.
This week's games will be available on Channel 233 and 232 on Thursday and Saturday respectively on the Pluto TV app or pluto.tv and watchbigsky.com.
Numbers Don't Lie: There are a couple of trends that have been proven to lead to NAU wins this season. When scoring at least 70 points, NAU is 5-4. The Lumberjacks have just one win this season when scoring less than 70. When totaling less turnovers than their opponents, the 'Jacks are 5-2. NAU has yet to win in 15 games when it has been outshot by its opponent. However, when the Lumberjacks have had the higher field goal percentage, they are 6-3.
Rediscovered: The Lumberjacks' offense may just be back if the last three games are any indication. Over the last three games, NAU is shooting 46 percent from both the field and from three. The 'Jacks are averaging 71.3 points per game in this span. The current stretch marks the first time this season that NAU has shot 45 percent or better overall and 40 percent or better from behind the arc in three straight games.
One Fact to Know Versus Sacramento State and Portland State: NAU's all-time win-loss record in Sacramento (13-9) and overall versus Sacramento State (30-15) is the best among Big Sky opponents. Last season, both of NAU's regular season losses to Portland State were by a single point.
NAU Quick Hits: Junior Tate Tsingine made her first start as a Lumberjack this past Saturday...Tsingine is averaging 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and shooting 50 percent from three over the last three games...McDavis moved up to third on NAU's single-season list for three-pointers made with 68...Junior Kaleigh Paplow recorded her seventh double-digit rebounding game last Saturday...McDavis leads the team with nine double-digit rebounding games...Lucero is the first Lumberjack in three years to eclipse 100 assists in a season...The Lumberjacks rank second in the league with 40.8 rebounds per game.
About Sacramento State: Sacramento State is 5-20 overall and enters the week with an identical 3-11 conference record as NAU following an 83-71 loss to Idaho State and 86-73 loss to Weber State on the road last week. The Hornets had swept Montana State and Montana the week prior at home. Hannah Friend has led the Hornets this season, ranking sixth in the Big Sky with 18.0 points per game. She also leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and is seventh in the conference with 2.5 three-pointers made per game. Maranne Johnson is the team's second-leading scorer with 15.1 points per game and ranks third in the Big Sky in steals at 2.6 per game. Johnson has made a team-high 64 threes at an average of 2.6 per game. Sacramento State is the fifth-highest team in the conference with 70.9 points per game overall this season. However, the Hornets are last in the Big Sky in scoring defense at 82.4 points per game and in field goal defense at .467. Sacramento State is third in the league with 9.0 steals per game.
About Portland State: Portland State split last week's road trip, first sneaking by Weber State, 62-60, before losing to Idaho State, 72-64. The Vikings have won three of their last four and are among the teams jockeying for seeding in the middle of the pack at 8-6 in conference and 14-11 overall. Sidney Rielly ranks eighth in the Big Sky in scoring with a team-best 17.0 points per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three. She is also shooting 81.5 percent at the free throw line. Courtney West, along with 9.3 points per game, is fourth in the conference in rebounding at 8.3 per game. West's numbers are up in league play with 10.6 points and 9.0 boards per game. For the entire season, she paces the Big Sky with 2.7 blocks per game. Portland State's 71.4 points per game ranks third in the league and is allowing 70.3 points per game. The Vikings are fourth in field goal percentage (.433), third in field goal defense (.396) and second in assists per game (15.6).
