FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 16, 2021) – With just four games left on their Big Sky Conference schedule, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks find themselves amid a jumble of teams in the conference standings.
Three schools, Idaho State, Montana State and Idaho, have separated themselves from the pack, but five schools are separated by just 1.5 games in the Big Sky standings. That leaves the distance spanning a first-round bye to a potential first-round meeting with a school just one more game behind.
No Big Sky women's team, or basketball program, has played more conference games than the Lumberjacks have this season. At 16 games played, NAU has just four remaining as it looks to complete its schedule without a single cancelation within Big Sky play.
The final four come against a pair of contrasting opponents, with Weber State (0-15, 0-12 Big Sky) at the bottom of the conference and Southern Utah (8-5, 3-2) in danger of not reaching the Big Sky's 10-game threshold for tournament seeding purposes.
First, it will be a pair of home games against Weber State, which NAU has beaten in the past four straight meetings overall and the last three in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks have also won four straight in Flagstaff, with three of their final four regular season games set for Rolle Activity Center.
"We have got to gain some momentum and we need to make a little bit of fixings offensively and defensively. Figure out how to score a little bit better and tighten up some things defensively," said NAU head coach
Loree Payne.
Outscored by an average of 17.9 points this season, Weber State is coming off a near victory at home last Saturday. Leading for much of the fourth quarter, Weber State missed a free throw with 2:16 remaining and a chance to extend their advantage to two points against the Montana Lady Griz. A layup with 1:48 left by the Lady Griz ended up as the final points of the day, with Weber State missing their final four shots of the day.
The Wildcats also took the Southern Utah Thunderbirds to double overtime in Ogden in January. Tying the score with 18 seconds left in regulation, Weber State forced overtime and took a five-point lead with 1:41 left in the first extra period. Forced into a second overtime despite their advantage, the Wildcats missed the game-tying free throw with 25 seconds left and eventually fell 76-74.
Just twice this season has Weber State broken the 70-point mark, first against the fast-tempo Grand Canyon Lopes to open the season and then again in the double-overtime loss. Meanwhile, NAU averages 70.8 points per game and has hit 80 in five contests this season, all of which were victories.
Three-point shooting provides the greatest contrast between the two programs this season, with NAU hitting 35.4 percent from outside, ranking 47th in the nation, while limiting opponents to hit 29.9 percent. The Wildcats have allowed teams to hit 35.7 percent this year, on 8.3 makes per game, while shooting just 23.5 percent themselves.
Hitting just 53-of-226 from outside the season, the Wildcats have made just 12 more three-pointers than
JJ Nakai has alone for the Lumberjacks this season. Montana State hit 15 threes in each of its meetings with Weber State, while Idaho and Eastern Washington also hit 14 in meetings with the Wildcats.
Just three of the Wildcats' top seven minute leaders from last season will be on the court this week, with Kori Pentzer, Jadyn Matthews and Daryn Hickok all playing in 15 games this year.
Pentzer leads Weber State in minutes played this year while averaging 9.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists while Matthews is third and Hickok sits fourth. Hickok leads the team with 9.6 points per game with Matthews at 9.3 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds.
Hickok averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds, but added 3.0 turnovers in the two meetings with NAU last season. Now in her sophomore season, Hickok played at Portland's Grant High School with NAU's
Khiarica Rasheed and
Nina Radford.
Matthews also finished in double-digits twice against the Lumberjacks last season, averaging 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Pentzer scored 4.5 points and grabbed 3.0 rebounds in the two games.
For NAU, Rasheed dominated the Wildcats a year ago with 31 points in the first meeting while hitting 11-of-16 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. In the rematch in Flagstaff, Rasheed finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Lumberjacks had 13 players score in the second meeting, a 92-61 victory in Flagstaff, and played just two players past the 25-minute mark.
"It's all about getting momentum into Boise, this year has been up and down," Payne said. "There's not competitive equity across the league, you look at the number of games people have played, and who they have played, and it's really going to come down to Boise. For us, we are just trying to get that positive momentum heading into Boise and we have got to put together a string of some good games for us to get that confidence."
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