CEDAR CITY, Utah (February 27, 2021) – Senior
Khiarica Rasheed poured in a season-best 27 points, but Southern Utah poured it on offensively, shooting 65 percent en route to a 97-80 victory on Saturday in the America First Event Center.
The loss concluded the regular season for NAU, who will take a 12-12 overall record and 10-10 Big Sky mark into the conference tournament. The 2021 Big Sky Championship begins on Monday, March 8 in Boise, Idaho.
"There wasn't a lot of defense played today," said head coach
Loree Payne. "Hats off to Southern Utah. They shot the ball really well and our defense allowed a lot of high percentage shots. We really need to take a step back and clean up things defensively going into Boise. I'm really glad that we have a week to sharpen up a little and take a little pride in our defense."
The Thunderbirds (10-7, 5-4 Big Sky) put an exclamation point on their afternoon by shooting 76.9 percent in the final quarter. The last time NAU allowed an opponent to shoot upwards of 60 percent was Feb. 28, 2015 in a loss to Northern Colorado, who shot 63.2 percent from the field.
Rasheed had the Lumberjacks rolling from the start, scoring 11 of her 27 points in the first quarter as NAU led by as much as six on a number of occasions. Junior
Regan Schenck's three-pointer gave the 'Jacks the last of those leads, 23-17, with under two minutes left in the period only for the Thunderbirds to close the quarter on a 10-2 run.
As it would turn out, NAU would not grab the lead again with Southern Utah extending its advantage out to as much as 13 in the second quarter before settling for a 50-40 halftime edge. NAU struggled in the period, making just 6-of-19 shots, while Southern Utah was a blistering 10-for-14 from the floor.
The Lumberjacks strung together a late third quarter run with three consecutive triples, cutting a 15-point deficit down to 66-60 with 1:53 left in the period. Sophomore
Emily Rodabaugh hit the first two, with Schenck capping the 9-0 run with her third of fourth trey of the game.
However, like the end of the first quarter, Southern Utah closed strong scoring the final six points of the third to take a 72-60 lead into the last 10 minutes. The Thunderbirds' lead never dipped below nine points in fourth, as they cruised to victory with their 97 points a high allowed by the Lumberjacks this season.
Although NAU shot just 38.4 percent from the floor, Rasheed was efficient and effective making 10-of-15 in her season-best offensive performance, scoring 27 points in just 26 minutes. She also secured a team-high seven rebounds.
"We've been waiting for that breakout game from her and she was able to score pretty consistently," Payne said. "But we need other people to step up. We have to be more consistent across the board and have five people in double-digits. If we can figure out how to spread that scoring out and be more consistent offensively, we can make a good run in Boise."
Schenck had another solid game, tying a career-high with four threes made and scoring 16 points, while also tallying six assists. Rodabaugh was the third Lumberjack in double-figures finishing with 13 and redshirt senior
Jacey Bailey and freshman
Olivia Moran added nine points apiece.
The Thunderbirds had five players score in double-figures led by Cherita Daugherty, who netted 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
NAU will take the next week off from competition before beginning play at the conference tournament. Depending on the rest of the league results next week, NAU still could land a top-five seed and a bye into the Big Sky quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 9.
Should NAU land outside of the top five, the Lumberjacks will start their championship run on March 8.
