FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 9, 2019) – If the Northern Arizona women's basketball team's 79-68 victory over Northern Colorado Saturday in the Walkup Skydome says anything, it is that March Madness is in full effect. The Lumberjacks (12-17, 8-12 Big Sky) sent a statement to the rest of the conference by handedly defeating the defending Big Sky Champions in their final game before the conference tournament.
"I'm just incredibly proud of this group," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We said from the beginning that this team is special. We said if we can put together 40 minutes and gel offensively and defensively, we can beat anyone in this conference. We've faced a lot of adversity this season and they've showed a lot of resilience in the process of building a winning, championship team."
The Lumberjacks honored their two seniors,
Kaleigh Paplow and
Tate Tsingine, before the Senior Day tip-off and then Paplow went to work in guiding NAU to its first win over Northern Colorado – who entered Saturday with a shot at earning the No. 1 seed and a share of its second straight Big Sky regular season title with a win – since 2015. The Lumberjacks also snapped an eight-game home skid to the Bears dating back to March 5, 2009.
Paplow notched her sixth double-double of the season with a monster performance of 27 points and 15 rebounds in addition to five assists. Paplow set a season-best in points and in the process moved into fifth all-time in scoring. Her 15 boards marked a new career-high as well. Paplow was 8-for-19 overall, 3-for-6 from behind the arc and 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
"I haven't experienced this (type of momentum) going into the Big Sky tournament," Paplow said. "You want be feeling good coming off some wins, which we haven't had in the past. This is a different team, it's a new year and we're ready to go."
NAU closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak, including wins over two of the top five teams in the conference heading into the conference tourney. The Lumberjacks will be the tournament's eighth-seed and will be locked up against ninth-seeded Sacramento State in Monday's first round game in Boise, Idaho. It will mark the first time that NAU will be the high seed in a Big Sky tournament game since 2007 – coincidentally the last time the Lumberjacks won a postseason game.
NAU withstood 40 points from Northern Colorado's Savannah Smith by limiting the rest of the Bears' lineup to just 28 points. The Lumberjacks outshot the Bears, 42.5 percent to 38.5 percent, and also posted a plus-10 margin on the glass, 48-38. The 48 rebounds are a season-best.
Northern Colorado started the game on a 7-0, but led only 16-13 at the end of the first quarter as neither team was able to settle in offensively. Both teams shot 35 percent in the first 10 minutes, but four of the Bears' five field goals were from beyond the arc.
The Lumberjacks flipped the scoreboard around in the second quarter and never looked back behind a pair of runs. Down 20-19 two minutes into the period, the 'Jacks used a 9-0 surge in a 90 second span – with Paplow accounting for seven of those points – to take a 26-20 lead with 6:26 remaining in the half. NAU would not trail again the rest of the game.
NAU then finished the half with a 7-0 run – sparked by a three-point play by sophomore
Khiarica Rasheed – to take a 42-31 advantage into the locker room. The Lumberjacks shot 61.9 percent in the second quarter in outscoring the Bears, 29-15, with Paplow registering 14 points and six rebounds in the period alone.
"Northern Colorado is a very good team and Savannah Smith is incredible," Payne said. "We put together a great first half and we had a lot of momentum. We were flowing and we wanted to build on that. We know with a team like (Northern Colorado) with a player like (Smith), you can never be comfortable."
A 9-0 Northern Colorado run sliced NAU's lead down to 45-40 with 6:44 left in the third quarter, but baskets by redshirt sophomore
Caitlin Malvar, redshirt sophomore
Jacey Bailey and freshman
Morgan Gary immediately followed allowing the Lumberjacks to push their advantage back out to double-digits.
Holding a 56-46 lead at the end of three quarters, the Lumberjacks built their lead up to as much as 20 in the final quarter and maintained a double-digit lead throughout. Rasheed and Paplow combined for all 23 of NAU's points in the last period to help the Lumberjacks clinch their first home winning record (7-6) in four years.
Rasheed finished with 17 points and seven rebounds to back Paplow's Senior Day performance. Bailey and Gary both chipped in eight points with Malvar adding seven.
The Lumberjacks will head to Boise with a 6-3 record in their last nine games with victories over three of the five teams who will receive a first round bye.
NAU and Sacramento State will play the opening game of the Big Sky Championships in the CenturyLink Arena at 1:30 p.m. MST on Monday. The Lumberjacks and Hornets split their regular season meetings with both teams winning on their respective home floors.
