PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. (December 8, 2019) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team endured their lowest scoring half of the season in a 71-61 loss to UC Davis on Sunday in the Findlay Toyota Center. The Lumberjacks shot just 26.7 percent in the second half allowing the Aggies to pull away in the final 20 minutes as NAU fell to 2-5 this season.
"We have a lot of work to do as a team," said head coach
Loree Payne. "I was disappointed in our team's effort in the second half. We have spurts where we look really good and others where we don't and we have to figure out how to counteract those times."
Redshirt sophomore
Nina Radford beat the first half buzzer with a three, pushing the Lumberjacks ahead 39-37 going into halftime. However, NAU went nearly eight and a half minutes without a field goal to start the third quarter. UC Davis took advantage and built a 53-45 lead going into the final period and extended it out to as much as 19 in the fourth.
The Aggies shot 45.5 percent from the floor and connected on 13 three-pointers at a 48.1 percent clip in the game. Meanwhile, the 'Jacks shot just 38.5 percent although they were a season-best 13-of-14 (92.9 percent) at the charity stripe.
Redshirt junior
Jacey Bailey and junior
Khiarica Rasheed tied for team-high honors with 13 points apiece. Rasheed was 5-for-6 from the floor while Bailey made three triples – a number matched by junior
Lauren Orndoff who finished with nine points.
The trio combined to guide NAU to an 8-2 advantage in the opening two minutes with Bailey and Orndoff both drilling treys. The Lumberjacks never trailed in the first quarter, leading by as much as 12, before taking a 20-11 lead into the second quarter.
UC Davis made a push in the second quarter and took its first lead of the game, 31-30, with 3:10 left in the first half on the Aggies' fifth three-pointer of the period. The Lumberjacks managed to tie the score at 36-36 following three perfect trips to the free throw line and Radford gave the 'Jacks the edge at the intermission with her buzzer-beating triple from the wing.
NAU missed its first 11 shots from the field in the third quarter before redshirt junior
Brianna Lehew connected on a jumper from the free throw line, which brought NAU within 48-43 after UC Davis moved in front. Lehew accounted for both of NAU's two field goals in the period as NAU posted its lowest scoring quarter of the season.
Still despite being outscored 16-6 in the third, the Lumberjacks were still in the game down eight heading into the final 10 minutes. But the Aggies' 13-2 run to open the fourth quarter put the 'Jacks behind, 66-47, with 5:39 remaining the game.
Bailey and sophomore
Morgan Gary hit a pair of threes and redshirt junior
Caitlin Malvar got to the rim for a layup in an 8-0 NAU run that cut the deficit to 66-55 with less than three minutes left, the 'Jacks could not make a further push.
"We need to knock down shots; we got some easy looks that we need to knock down," Payne said. "They got hot from outside and we tried to mix things up defensively, but we couldn't get the stops. Fortunately it's non-conference play, but this is a good gauge with where we're at against a team that's comparable to a Big Sky opponent."
NAU posted a season-high 11 steals with Radford in on a career-high five thefts. The Lumberjacks also tallied 14 assists on their 20 made baskets with Malvar recording a game-high five helpers.
Bailey led the team with five boards as the 'Jacks were outrebounded 35-30.
The Lumberjacks will close out the non-conference schedule on Dec. 18 and 19 in Maui at the Maui Jim Maui Classic. NAU will face Oregon State, currently ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25, and San Jose State before opening the conference slate.
