Lumberjacks Shine in Home Opener, Beat UTEP 83-75

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 17, 2020) – Finally granted the opportunity to play on its home court, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team did not disappoint.
 
Shooting 61.5 percent from the field in the second half, their best shooting percentage across a 20-minute stretch this season, the Lumberjacks fought off a fourth-quarter push from the UTEP Miners for an 83-75 victory Thursday night in Rolle Activity Center.
 
"We knocked down some free throws at the end, we knocked some tough shots at the end," said NAU head coach Loree Payne, as the Lumberjacks put together a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game away. "That's growth from the previous games in the fourth quarter."
 
The Miners retook the lead, 40-39, for the first time since the opening minutes early on in the third quarter. The teams tied twice in the third and the score was rarely separated by more than a possession coming out of the halftime break.
 
While NAU pushed the lead to six thanks to a layup from sophomore Emily Rodabaugh and a jumper by senior Miki'ala Maio, UTEP responded first with a three-pointer by Isis Lopes and then four quick points by Dejanae Roebuck.
 
Now leading by just one at 66-65, the Lumberjacks put together their run to take their largest lead of the game at 79-67. 
 
Junior Regan Schenck continued her impressive start to the season with four points in about a minute immediately after returning to the game off of the bench. Playing just 24 minutes after recording her fourth foul with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Schenck closed out her night with seven fourth-quarter points and an assist on a senior Khiarica Rasheed layup.
 
Senior JJ Nakai answered UTEP's lone basket of the run with a jumper assisted by Maio and senior Jacey Bailey drilled a three-pointer off of a pass from Nakai to force a UTEP timeout. Following Rasheed's basket in the paint, Maio hit a pair of free throws with just 2:08 left on the clock to put NAU ahead by 12.
 
NAU committed just two turnovers in the fourth, the lowest of any quarter throughout the night, as it worked much more effectively to break through UTEP's pressure than it did last week at Grand Canyon.
 
"Our turnovers definitely went significantly lower this game," Payne said, with the Lumberjack committing 16 as opposed to the 25 in Phoenix. "Their kids went and they went hard. I'm just super proud of our kids that we did learn from our GCU situation. We were able to come back and get some easy looks out of the press break."
 
All five Lumberjack starters reached double-digits, with four of the five finishing the night 50 percent or better from the field. 
Nakai led NAU in scoring again, finishing her home debut in Flagstaff with 20 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Rodabaugh added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Bailey put up 12 points as she hit 3-of-9 from three-point range. 
 
Schenck added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds in her limited minutes, which helped push Maio into a heavier ball-handling role at certain points of the night. The first-year Lumberjack thrived against UTEP's defense, hitting 6-of-8 from the field and both shots from the free-throw line, to finish with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds.
 
"Miki'ala made some incredible shots. She was confident and that mid-range game is her strength," Payne said. "I felt like that is what was open tonight. They are a really good team at taking charges and Miki'ala's game really fit into that, being able to do that little pull up in the paint."
 
The victory also provided the first look at Rasheed this season as she returned from injury to play 14 minutes off of the bench, scoring six points while adding four rebounds and two assists. 
 
"We were very excited when she got the clearance and we were able to play her some restricted minutes," Payne said of the Big Sky Conference Preseason MVP. "She's not at 100 percent yet, but she's getting there. The biggest thing is getting her back in conditioning. She'll come back quickly, the kid is resilient. You saw the impact she had on the boards and really our defense down low, and also gave us a couple buckets down low."
 
The Lumberjacks head back out on the road, making another trip to Tucson on Saturday for a 12 p.m. tipoff against the New Mexico State Aggies. Coming off a victory against the Denver Pioneers Tuesday night, the Aggies enter the game 2-4 this season while playing five games on the road and just one in their temporary home in Tucson.