OGDEN, Utah (February 9, 2019) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team was simply dominant in the fourth quarter, outscoring Weber State, 31-12, over the final 10 minutes to upend the Wildcats, 75-64, Saturday afternoon in the Dee Events Center. Overcoming a nine-point deficit with eight minutes remaining, NAU moved to 8-14 overall and 4-9 in conference while eclipsing its overall win total from a year ago in the process.
"Weber State came out ready to play and they hit some shots that they don't normally hit; they were playing really well together," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We were a little out of sync in the first half and in the second half, we were a completely different team. We identified where their scorers were and then we turned it on in the fourth quarter. That was huge for us."
Coupled with its victory at Idaho State on Thursday, the Lumberjacks head home with their first perfect 2-0 Big Sky road trip for the first time in nearly 14 years. The last time NAU swept a conference road trip in a week was Feb. 17 and 19, 2005 when it defeated Montana State and Montana. The Lumberjacks then defeated Sacramento State the following week that year, which marked the previous time NAU won three straight road games overall prior to its current streak starting at Southern Utah on Jan. 28.
To complete its unbeaten road trip, the Lumberjacks needed a fourth quarter rally, which sophomore
Khiarica Rasheed led scoring 12 of her team-high 22 points in the final period. At one point during NAU's game-altering 12-0 run, Rasheed scored on three straight possessions to help the 'Jacks erase a 58-49 deficit and never trail again.
"Our intensity on both sides of the floor wasn't there and we needed a spark," Rasheed said. "I felt like I needed to step up. We were passive. I decided to be more aggressive and we all came together because we felt like this was our game (to win)."
Rasheed's fourth quarter heroics – she shot 5-for-6 in the final 10 minutes – propelled her to her second-best scoring game of her career. She finished 8-for-12 overall, made all six of her free throws and grabbed nine rebounds. Rasheed also completed four and-1 plays, all coming in the second half.
Behind Rasheed, redshirt sophomore
Caitlin Malvar scored a season-high 17 points with four three-point makes. Junior
Peyton Carroll added 16 and senior
Kaleigh Paplow registered 10 giving NAU four double-digit scorers. Playing on her birthday, Paplow not only slid into the Lumberjacks' top 10 scoring list, but moved into ninth all-time by the end of the game.
NAU's 31 fourth quarter points marked its second-highest scoring quarter of the season. The Lumberjacks declawed the Wildcats over the course of six and a half minutes with a 17-2 lead that flipped the scoreboard in their favor, 66-60, with 2:32 to play. Weber State managed to score just six points in the final eight minutes of the game after holding its nine-point advantage, 58-49.
The 'Jacks shot 62.5 percent in the fourth quarter, while the Wildcats shot only 31.6 percent. For the game, NAU finished at 45.9 percent compared to Weber State's 40.0 clip.
NAU overcame a minus-eight margin in the turnover column by outrebounding Weber State, 46-30. The plus-16 rebounding margin was the largest of the season for the Lumberjacks. Paplow hauled down 10 rebounds to notch her fourth double-double of the season.
The Lumberjacks trailed for the majority of the first 34 minutes of the game. Freshman
Regan Schenck, coming off a season-best 23 point performance Thursday night – picked up right where she left off scoring two of NAU's first three baskets during a 6-3 game-opening NAU run. However, the Lumberjacks' early miscues – five turnovers – aided the Wildcats' 12-9 lead through the first six minutes.
Weber State took a 17-15 lead into the second quarter and never trailed on its way to a 32-27 halftime advantage. The Wildcats were particularly effective behind the arc, draining 5-of-9 three-pointers in the first half, to keep the 'Jacks from moving ahead despite eight first half points each Carroll and Malvar.
After the half, Weber State cooled down behind the arc, making just 2-of-11 attempts, which helped NAU climb back into the game.
A jumper by Paplow brought NAU within three, 39-36, with 6:26 left in the third quarter before Weber State blitzed NAU for three straight baskets in less than a minute to open up its first of two nine-point advantages, 45-36, before settling on a 52-44 lead to start the final period.
NAU will now play five of its last seven games before the conference tournament at home – and have some welcomed momentum – starting with Portland State on Thursday in the Walkup Skydome.
"We've been talking about starting and finishing games strong," Payne said. "That's been a theme to our season too. We started strong, went through some bumps and now our goal is to finish strong. For us to get these two wins against a very good Idaho State team and a Weber State team who plays incredibly hard and has talent, it was huge. We couldn't be in a better situation and now it's up to us to go out and play to our potential."
The 'Jacks and Vikings tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The game will be NAU's annual Play4Kay game and all fans are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness.
