FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 20, 2019) – On the heels of their first win of the season, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team begins a stretch of four straight true road games, and seven straight away from Flagstaff including neutral-site contests, with a pair of contests in the Golden State this week. The Lumberjacks' week begins at California Baptist on Thursday with a 12 p.m. MST matinee tip-off and before they continue on to face Fresno State on Sunday at 3 p.m. MST.
The Lumberjacks take a 1-1 record with them to California following an 88-80 victory over Seattle last Saturday in the Rolle Activity Center. For the second straight game to begin the season, NAU led for more than 35 minutes. However, unlike in its season opener at New Mexico, the Lumberjacks held off a fourth quarter charge by the Redhawks to capture their first win of the season.
While junior
Lauren Orndoff posted a career-high 20 points in the win, redshirt sophomore
Nina Radford was named Big Sky Ready Nutrition Player of the Week after recording 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists versus Seattle. Radford came up huge in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of her 17 points in the final 10 minutes to close out the win.
Orndoff ranks third in the Big Sky with team-leading 17.0 points per game and is one of four Lumberjacks ranked in the top eight through the first two weeks of the season.
Junior
Khiarica Rasheed is fifth with 15.5 points per game, redshirt junior
Jacey Bailey is sixth with 15.0 points per game and Radford is eighth with 14.5 points per game.
Buoyed by four players averaging more than 14 points per game, NAU is the Big Sky's highest scoring team with 82.0 points per game. The Lumberjacks also lead the Big Sky with 9.5 three-pointers made on average, but they are ninth in scoring defense at 81.5.
"We've been talking about it since we got here; we want to play an up-tempo, high scoring style," said head coach
Loree Payne. "However, we don't want to compromise our defense. We have to take more pride in our defense without compromising our offense as well. We have to have balance where if we're not hitting shots, we can come down and get a stop. We have talented scorers and we're looking to turn it up defensively."
The Lumberjacks also lead the Big Sky in team rebounding at 49.0 per game. Bailey is second individually with a team-best 9.0 boards per game with Radford chipping in 6.5 per game.
Last season, NAU pulled off a pair of thrilling victories over its two opponents at home. NAU opened the 2018-19 season with an 86-73 victory against Fresno State behind a school record 15 three-pointers. Six different players, led by Orndoff's 4-for-4 showing from deep, made multiple threes as NAU earned its first win over Fresno State since 2000. Three games later, the 'Jacks edged California Baptist, 91-88, in the teams' only previous meeting. Five players scored in double-figures and redshirt junior
Caitlin Malvar recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.
California Baptist is off to an unbeaten start at 4-0 this season, most recently defeating Alabama A&M, 60-55, last Saturday. The Lancers, a WNIT team from a season ago, has played all four of its games at home. California Baptist also has wins over Long Beach State, CSUN and Ottawa (Ariz.) this season. The Lancers were picked to finish second in the WAC preseason coaches and media polls.
Meanwhile, Fresno State is 3-1 and is coming off a 75-64 loss at Portland last Sunday. The Bulldogs, who will host BYU on Thursday, had previously beaten Montana in Missoula, 76-63, before suffering their first loss of the season to the Pilots. Fresno State placed third in the preseason Mountain West poll.
"This is a tough road trip, but fortunately they are similar teams," Payne said. "California Baptist is undefeated and they play very well together. They take a lot of outside shots and we need to protect the three-point line. We're going to see a lot more zone with Fresno State and they're solid. It's two challenging games, but I feel if we play well we can absolutely compete for two victories."
Both games on the road trip will be streamed for free with all video and live stats links available
here.
About California Baptist:
Record: 4-0, 0-0 WAC
All-Time Series: NAU, 1-0
Last Meeting: NAU, 91-88 (Nov. 17, 2018)
About Fresno State:
Record: 3-1, 0-0 Mountain West
All-Time Series: NAU, 3-2
Last Meeting: NAU, 86-73 (Nov. 6, 2018)
