Rasheed’s Game-Winner Gives NAU 76-75 Victory Over Sacramento State

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 6, 2021) – Twice in the closing seconds, Khiarica Rasheed put the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks ahead by one.
 
The second time the lead held as NAU held on for a 76-75 victory against the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday afternoon, extending their win streak to three games overall and four straight in Rolle Activity Center.
 
With just 1.3 left on the clock, Miki'ala Maio inbounded the ball right next to her own bench and found Rasheed open inside the paint after the Hornets appeared to make a mistake on a defensive switch. The lob pass brought Rasheed right under the basket, with the ball dropping through the net with 0.2 on the clock and the Lumberjack bench sprinting onto the court to celebrate.
 
"They just split and it was really wide open," said Rasheed, who finished with second consecutive double-double at 20 points and 12 rebounds. "Just had to focus and finish."
 
Just a few minutes earlier, Rasheed put in the go-ahead basket with 20 seconds left on the clock, as she drove from the three-point line into the paint. Hitting the layup, and drawing a blocking foul, Rasheed put the Lumberjacks ahead 74-73.
 
However, after a miss by Milee Enger on a drive along the baseline, Summer Menke put the ball back up for a go-ahead basket of her own with just 1.3 left. NAU's timeout advanced the ball up to its own end, with head coach Loree Payne's inbound play working to perfection.
 
"When they are ahead, they tend to go man. When they are behind, they tend to go zone. They ended up going man that last play and they had a miscommunication on the switch," Payne said. "Khia was open exactly where we wanted her to be open, Mik delivered a great pass and we got that bucket."
 
NAU trailed the entire fourth quarter until Rasheed's first go ahead shot, with the deficit as big as eight at the 4:44 mark. The Lumberjacks led by two at the break, but the Hornets put in the first five in the third quarter.
 
Baskets by Jacey Bailey and Rasheed temporarily gave NAU a one-point edge, but Sacramento State's Jazmin Carrasco buried a pair of threes in a span of about 20 seconds to put her team in control.
 
The Hornets finished the day 11-of-25 from three, with Carrasco, Tiana Johnson, Sarah Abney and Brooke Panfili all connected on at least two. Six of the team's threes came in the third quarter, allowing Sacramento State to build its lead up to eight after the sides were never separated by more than six in the first 20 minutes.
 
"It was just up and down and hey shot really, really well," Payne said. "Some were even hand in their face, majorly contested and they were still knocking those down. They were feeling it."
 
Sacramento State hit 7-of-11 from the field in the final quarter, and 15-of-27 in the second half, but was plagued by turnovers. NAU's Nyah Moran, JJ Nakai, Emily Rodabaugh and Rasheed all earned steals in the fourth quarter, with Sacramento State committing eight turnovers in the final 10 minutes.
 
Rasheed stole two in the final two minutes as the senior reached a season-high 30 minutes in the game.
 
"I pride myself on being a consistent player, I feel like this year I am still getting back into it," Rasheed said. "I haven't fully been myself... It feels good to finally get the numbers up again. I feel like I'm finally starting to hit my stride because it's been awhile."
 
Despite forcing 24 turnovers, the second most this season and highest total since their 25 at Eastern Washington on Dec. 5, NAU struggled to build much of a lead early on. The Lumberjacks' largest run of the game came midway through the second quarter as the team trailed by five. 
 
A layup by Rasheed and a three from Bailey tied the game, with Maio's back-to-back baskets and a layup for Emily Rodabaugh pushing NAU ahead 33-27. The Hornets answered back with a 14-5 run stretching across overtime and setting the stage for the dramatic second half.
 
Three other Lumberjacks besides Rasheed reached double-digits, with Bailey wrapping up the day with 18 points, Nakai at 13 and Maio with 10 as NAU won its six straight game over Sacramento State.
 
Now 9-9 overall and 7-7 in the Big Sky, the Lumberjacks bumped back ahead of a group of Big Sky schools with their sweep ahead of next week's trip to Portland State. Sitting tied for fifth in the conference standings, NAU will face the Portland State Vikings (6-7, 4-6) who are coming off a split of their series of games against Montana in Missoula. 
 
"We needed it. We went through a lot of adjustments, team talks and figuring things out," Rasheed said. "Overall, we just need to learn to play together. I think we are finally hitting our stride with the pieces. We have a team where each night someone can go off, someone can do amazing things."