FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 10, 2019) – It is win-or-go-home and the Northern Arizona women's basketball team begins their run in the Big Sky Championship on Monday versus Sacramento State at 1:30 p.m. MST at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho on a wave of momentum. The eighth-seeded Lumberjacks and ninth-seeded Hornets will match up for just the second time ever in the conference tournament with NAU winning the only other meeting in 2005.
"We've finally tapped into our potential as a team," said head coach Loree Payne. "We've just continued to build on that over the last couple of weeks. But the Big Sky Tournament and March, it's a new ball game. We've played some tough games against Sacramento State, so for us we need to play with confidence. You have to put together a full 40 minutes in March, or you'll go home."
NAU and Sacramento State split the season series this year with both teams winning at home. Sacramento State claimed a 65-61 win in The Nest on Jan. 17 before NAU posted a dramatic 71-69 victory behind senior
Kaleigh Paplow's game-winner with 0.7 seconds left on Feb. 16 in the Walkup Skydome.
NAU is in search of its first conference tournament win in a dozen years since the Lumberjacks posted a pair of victories in 2007 before ultimately falling in the championship game. NAU has dropped seven straight Big Sky tourney games in the 12-year span.
The Lumberjacks are the hottest team in the league on the heels of three consecutive wins to end the regular season over Montana State, Montana and Northern Colorado. NAU's three-game win streak is the longest in the Big Sky heading into the week. In all, the 'Jacks have won six of their last nine games. The Lumberjacks hold a 12-17 record after going 8-12 in the Big Sky. The eight conference wins mark NAU's highest league total in four years.
"We've put together three really solid games (in a row) and that's something we haven't done all year," Payne said. "We're close to playing to this team's potential and we feel like we're in a good place moving forward."
Meanwhile, the Hornets finished two games back of the 'Jacks with a 6-14 conference record. Sacramento State is 10-18 overall and have lost its last five games entering the tournament including road losses to Montana State, 64-58, and Montana, 75-67, during the final week of the regular season.
Paplow, coming off a 27 point, 15 rebound double-double performance in the 79-68 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday, leads the team with 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The senior ranks eighth in the conference in scoring and seventh in rebounding. During NAU's current three-game winning streak, Paplow is averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and an impressive 6.3 assists per game. Her assist-to-turnover ratio in the last three games is 4.8 with 19 assists and just four turnovers.
Redshirt sophomore
Jacey Bailey is averaging 20.7 points per game over the course of the win streak while shooting 52.1 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three. She is also averaging 7.3 rebounds in this span. Bailey ended the regular season with a flurry, carrying a scoring average of 11.2 into Monday's tilt.
Sophomore
Khiarica Rasheed is second on the team with 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Since NAU defeated Idaho State on the road on Feb. 7, Rasheed is averaging 16.0 points over the last nine games. Freshman
Regan Schenck gives NAU four double-digit scorers during that span, along with Bailey, Paplow and Rasheed, as she is averaging 10.6 points per game since the Idaho State win. Schenck is shooting 36.7 percent from behind the arc over the last five weeks.
The Lumberjacks have played exceptionally well offensively in their last three games, averaging 79.0 points per game and shooting 46.5 percent overall, 37.3 percent from long distance and 77.4 percent at the charity stripe. NAU's defense has also improved recently with its opponents averaging only 68.3 points during the Lumberjacks' win streak. Opponents are only shooting 38.9 percent and 28.6 percent from three.
The Lumberjacks are averaging 67.9 points for the season and allowing 72.4. NAU ranks third in the Big Sky with 39.5 rebounds per game.
Should NAU advance, the 'Jacks will play the top-seed and regular season champion Idaho on Tuesday at 11 a.m. MST. The Big Sky women's basketball semifinals will be contested on Wednesday with the championship game set for Friday.
Monday's game and subsequent games throughout the week will be available on Pluto TV Channel 231
online and on the free mobile app in addition to
watchbigsky.com. The Voice of the Lumberjacks
Mitch Strohman will have the radio call on 93.5 FM & AM 930 KAFF Country Legends in Flagstaff and online
here.
About Sacramento State:
Record: 10-18, 6-14 Big Sky
2018-19 Big Sky Finish: Ninth
All-Time Series: NAU, 32-16
Last Meeting: NAU, 71-69 (Feb. 16, 2019)
