FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 19, 2021) – With less than a minute before halftime, freshman
Olivia Moran drilled a corner three to retake the lead in what had been a back-and-forth game against the FIU Panthers.
The shot ended up being the final lead change of the night, as the Lumberjacks led for all but 31 seconds of the second half in their first game at the 2021 Women's Basketball Invitational. Building up a lead as large as 14 in the final quarter, NAU came away with its first ever postseason victory, 82-69, over FIU Friday night in Frankfort, Ky.
While a pair of Lumberjacks put together impressive double-doubles, NAU's defense stepped up to open up the WBI.
Despite entering the game ranked 59th in the nation in three-point percentage and 23rd in three-pointers made per game, the Panthers failed to connect from outside in the second half against the Lumberjacks.
"Our defense really locked in. We worked on dribble penetration, defending one-on-one and we really toughened up our zone a bit," said NAU head coach
Loree Payne. "Our ability to mix things up defensively against them was a huge piece. The players really communicated and dialed in defensively to get big stops toward the end."
Leading 57-50 entering the fourth quarter, a pair of back-to-back three pointers cemented NAU's victory with just under nine minutes left on the clock.
After missing a layup on the first possession of the quarter,
Regan Schenck recovered the ball for an offensive rebound before
Miki'ala Maio drilled a three-pointer to take a 10-point advantage. A stop and a defensive rebound for
Khiarica Rasheed led to Schenck driving down the court and handing off to
JJ Nakai.
Standing in nearly the same spot as Maio was just 50 seconds earlier, Nakai dropped in a three of her own as the Lumberjacks went ahead 63-50.
The Lumberjacks connected on 5-of-9 from outside in the second half, bouncing back from a slow start in the opening 20 minutes. Shooting just 2-of-12 from outside and 36.8 percent from the field in the first half, NAU clung to a 33-31 lead entering the break.
Shots began to fall much more often in the second, as the Lumberjacks hit 51.4 percent from the field. A significant portion of NAU's second-half offense came from Rasheed, who hit 7-of-8 in the half on the way to a season-high 29 points.
"I felt like once we kind of got her in the flow of things, especially in the second half, I think she got a lot more confidence," Payne said of Rasheed. "We found her off of some pretty good screen actions that allowed her to really get going. Then she just really stepped up and wanted that ball and shot it confidently."
Rasheed also came down with 14 rebounds, tying her career-high, as the Lumberjacks edged the Panthers 47-40 on the boards. Schenck and
Jacey Bailey each added eight, while
Emily Rodabaugh came down with seven.
Two shy of another double-digit rebounding day also left Schenck just shy of her second triple-double this season. The junior scored 11 points, but more importantly handed out 10 assists to just one turnover in 39 minutes on the court.
"Every night I think she has the ability to have a triple-double," Payne said of Schenck. "She knocked down some big shots. She really penetrated and created some openings for our shooters. She was feeding the ball to Khia, and I felt like they had a good connection tonight. For her to face the amount of pressure FIU put on us, and to only have one turnover with 10 assists, that is something as a coach I couldn't be more proud of."
Schenck wrapped up a crucial 7-0 run midway through the third quarter with a fastbreak jumper on a perfect pass by Bailey.
The two connected just a minute earlier when Bailey broke a 45-45 tie with a corner three to begin the run. Drawing a defender away from Bailey after faking a pass to Rasheed at the elbow, Schenck found Bailey standing alone for the open three.
FIU ended the run with a layup on its next possession, but back-to-back baskets for Rasheed and Bailey left the Panthers trailing by at least six for the remainder of the night. Bailey finished with 12 points, and Nakai added 14 thanks to a pair of threes in the game.
A 6-0 run to start the game for NAU was answered by a 7-0 stretch by FIU, setting the tone of lead changes in the first half. Separated by no more than five points in the first half after NAU's initial six-point lead, FIU only managed to take a two-point lead on one occasion.
Leading for only 3:15 of the game, FIU never could top the 7-0 run from the first quarter. Hitting just 17-of-29 from the free-throw line, the Panthers struggled to take advantage while putting a few Lumberjacks in foul trouble.
NAU now moves on to face the Portland Pilots, led by Payne's former Division-III Northwest Conference foe Michael Meek, in the WBI semifinals set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
