| Northern Arizona at Southern Utah |
GAME NOTES (PDF)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Concluding a stretch of three straight road games, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team faces Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday in an early 12:30 p.m. matinee tip-off. The Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds are both looking to end lengthy losing streaks with NAU's at eight games and Southern Utah having lost its last six.
The Lumberjacks' losing streak moved to eight with a 76-59 loss to Idaho State and 77-63 loss to Weber State last week on the road. NAU is 4-18 overall and 1-10 in the Big Sky with four weeks remaining in the regular season.
Redshirt senior Olivia Lucero ranks 10th in the Big Sky with 15.9 points per game and is third with 4.6 assists per game, both of which lead the team. Over her last four games, Lucero has averaged 18.0 points per game while significantly increasing her rebounding output with an average of 8.0 boards. Redshirt senior Kenna McDavis, NAU's second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, has hit 59 three-pointers this season and is currently sitting seventh in the program's single season chart.
The Lumberjacks are also receiving double-digit scoring from junior Kaleigh Paplow, who is averaging 10.7 points per game this season. Paplow is also averaging 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
NAU continues to fight offensive inconsistencies in league play, shooting 34.5 percent from the field and 25.8 percent from behind the arc. The Lumberjacks are averaging 59.0 points per game while allowing 75.1 points per game against conference opponents.
Saturday's game will be streamed on Channel 236 on the Pluto TV app or pluto.tv and watchbigsky.com.
Khi Coming Alive: Freshman Khiarica Rasheed has upped her game and had her best two-week stretch of her debut season of late. Over the last four games, Rasheed is averaging 10.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor. Of her 32 rebounds, 18 have been on the offensive glass at an average of 4.5 per game. Rasheed has shot 22-for-27 (81.5 percent) at the free throw line over the last four games raising her season percentage from 46.7 percent to 59.7 percent.
One Fact to Know Versus Southern Utah: Lucero, McDavis and Paplow all scored in double-digits in last season's meeting in Cedar City, which NAU won 77-68 for its first victory at Southern Utah since 2013.
NAU Quick Hits: The Lumberjacks lead the Big Sky with 41.4 rebounds per game this season...NAU had three players record double-digit rebounds last Saturday against Weber State (McDavis, Rasheed and freshman Lauren Orndoff)...Orndoff's 10 rebounds marked her first double-digit rebounding game...NAU has shot 40 percent in just three of 11 conference games...Lucero is shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range in her last four games.
About Southern Utah: Southern Utah has dropped six consecutive games since defeating NAU on Jan. 13 and is 3-19 overall and 2-9 in conference. Last week, the Thunderbirds lost to Weber State, 65-50, and Idaho State, 66-39, on the road. Breanu Reid is the only Thunderbird averaging double-figure points with a team-leading 11.5 per game. In conference play, she is averaging 11.9 points per game. Rebecca Cardenas is averaging 4.0 assists per game and is second in the conference with 2.8 steals per game. Her 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is also second in the Big Sky and in conference play she is averaging 10.9 points per game. Southern Utah is the lowest scoring team with an average of 58.6 points per game in conference play and is shooting only 34.7 percent as a team. Defensively, the Thunderbirds are allowing 70.5 points per game in conference play and opponents are shooting 45.4 percent against them.
