BOISE, Idaho (March 11, 2019) – Down their senior captain, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team was not intimidated with the Big Sky regular season champion standing across them. However, a blistering second quarter by the Vandals blew open Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup and Idaho handed NAU a 90-73 victory inside the CenturyLink Arena.
NAU's season comes to an end with a 13-18 overall record. Despite the loss, NAU won seven of its last 11 games to close the season and the Lumberjacks did not leave their first trip to Boise empty-handed as they picked up their first tournament win in 12 days on Monday.
On Tuesday however, the top-seeded Vandals blitzed the Lumberjacks in the second quarter, outscoring the 'Jacks by 21. NAU played Idaho close in the three other quarters, winning the first and fourth quarters and losing the third quarter by a single point.
"I'm super proud of the team and the resilience they showed," said head coach
Loree Payne. "With Kaleigh (Paplow) going down, they battled together. We were short on our lineup, but they played incredibly hard the entire game. It's sad when the season comes to an end, especially because we were just getting our momentum going, but we finished the season very strong."
The Lumberjacks were without senior
Kaleigh Paplow due to an injury, but that did not deter them as they faced the Vandals head on. Freshman
Regan Schenck led the young 'Jacks on the court with career-highs of 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Schenck concluded her debut season with her first double-double and also did not commit a turnover.
"(Regan) put up some incredible numbers," Payne said. "She stepped up initially and hit some big shots out of the gate. As a freshman, I couldn't ask for her to have a better performance and that's great to see moving forward as a leader for our program."
Schenck and junior
Peyton Carroll shouldered the load for NAU from the get-go combining for all but two of the Lumberjacks' first quarter points. Schenck registered 11 points in the first 10 minutes, while Carroll came off the bench to net eight points to pace the 'Jacks to a 21-20 first quarter lead. NAU and Idaho traded blows in the up-tempo opening period with six lead changes.
NAU's hot start was quickly erased by Idaho as the Vandals put up the highest scoring quarter by a Lumberjack opponent this season. Idaho missed just four shots, going 13-for-17, and it outscored NAU, 36-15, in the period.
After Idaho moved ahead a little more than a minute into the second quarter, NAU remained close down 33-29 following a bucket by freshman
Morgan Gary. However, an ensuing 19-4 run over a five and a half minute stretch opened up Idaho's lead to 52-33 and the No. 1 seed eventually took a 56-36 lead into the break.
The Lumberjacks trailed by as much as 27 in the third quarter, but fought their way back to within 14 late. Bailey, sophomore
Khiarica Rasheed and Schenck converted on three straight baskets that capped a 16-3 run to cut Idaho's advantage to 69-55 with 1:45 left in the quarter. However, the Vandals scored the quarter's final seven points and regained a 21-point lead.
NAU wound up outscoring Idaho by four points in the fourth quarter and got as close as 12 in the final minute on a trey by senior
Tate Tsingine in her last career game.
The Lumberjacks' defensive effort limited the Vandals in the second half with Idaho shooting just 32.4 percent after halftime compared to 56.8 percent in the first. Idaho's All-Big Sky First Team tandem of Taylor Pierce and Mikayla Ferenz were limited to just 12 combined points in the second half after spurring their team to their sizeable halftime lead with 43 first half points.
Idaho shot 44.6 percent for the game, although the Vandals' lethal three-point attack was limited to a 28.1 percent clip. NAU shot 39.4 percent for the game and was 42.1 percent from behind the arc. Schenck and Bailey combined for seven of NAU's eight three-pointers.
The Vandals did a significant rebounding advantage though, 48-37. Both teams combined for just 14 turnovers.
NAU had four players in double-digit scoring led by Schenck's high of 24. Bailey had 14 followed by 13 from Rasheed and 11 from Carroll. All four players will be part of NAU's promising nucleus returning next season as the Lumberjacks aim to continue their rise to the upper echelon of the Big Sky Conference.
"I want the (offseason) to start right now," Payne said. "The future is very bright for NAU women's basketball. There are a lot of sophomores and freshmen on the floor. It's bittersweet to say goodbye to this season, but we're very excited about what's ahead."
"(The tournament) was fun," Schenck added. "I've never been on such a big stage. It makes me excited for the next three years to see how much better we'll get each year."
