| Northern Arizona at Portland State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 9, 2021) – Winners of three straight in Flagstaff, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks now head back out on the road where they hope to turn their luck around away from their home court.
After sweeping Eastern Washington in early December, NAU has struggled on the road during conference play. Dropping five straight Big Sky games away from Flagstaff, albeit with four against two of the top teams in the conference, the Lumberjacks now take on a team they've struggled against for the past few years.
Losing 10 straight to Portland State dating back to the 2015-16 season, NAU has not broken the 70-point mark against the Vikings since the 2017 Big Sky Conference tournament when it fell 88-76.
The Lumberjacks last broke the 70-point mark against the Vikings in the 2017 Big Sky Conference Tournament, falling 88-76. During the losing streak, the Lumberjacks have averaged just 63.5 points per game with the Vikings at 73.1 on their offensive end.
Currently ninth in the Big Sky with a 4-6 conference record, the Vikings are a part of the jumble of teams spanning fourth to ninth. Just a week ago, NAU resided in ninth itself as it sat two games under .500 in the conference. Following a sweep of Sacramento State, NAU moved up to fifth in the Big Sky, a half-game out of fourth but just one game ahead of ninth.
Portland State's home record sits at 3-3, having been swept by Eastern Washington, split with Montana State and swept Sacramento State. The Vikings played six straight conference games at home from Dec. 31 to Jan. 16 before heading to Idaho State and Montana the past two weeks.
A pair of All-Big Sky Third Team honorees led the Vikings, with Kylie Jimenez and Desirae Hansen combining to score nearly 40 percent of their team's points this season.
Hansen's 14.8 points per game ranks sixth in the Big Sky this season while her 7.1 rebounds sits 10th. The junior also ranks among the conference's top 10 in steals (1.7, eighth), three-point percentage (36.6 percent, 10th), three-pointers made per game (2.0, fifth) and blocks (0.8, ninth). Jimenez averages 10.1 points, 4.2 assists and 2.1 steals. Ranking third in assists, fourth in steals, seventh in free-throw percentage (82.9 percent), Jimenez also leads the league in minutes played 37.8 per game.
Both players averaged 17.0 points per game against NAU last season though neither shot well from the field in their two wins. Both Jimenez and Hansen finished under 40 percent combined against NAU, though the former finished 12-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Jimenez added 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the two meetings, with Hansen also at 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
Jacey Bailey and
Khiarica Rasheed essentially matched Portland State's duo last year, as they both recorded double-doubles in the two meetings. Bailey averaged 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while Rasheed totaled 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.
Neither school could shoot well from the field, as both games featured the two teams finishing under 40 percent overall.
Sophomore Jada Lewis serves as another offensive threat for the Vikings, shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range and hitting 2.0 threes per game. During conference play, Lewis has connected on at least two threes in seven of 10 contests, hitting a season-high of six against Eastern Washington.
Portland State sits sixth in the Big Sky at shooting from the three-point line, hitting 32.7 percent. However, on the defensive end the Vikings have struggled as they rank 10th at 35.1 percent. In their last six conference games, opponents have hit at least 39.0 percent in five of them.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's basketball team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook for updates throughout the season.
