Rough First Half Ends Lumberjacks' Run in Big Sky Conference Tournament

BOISE, Idaho (March 9, 2021) – A slow start for the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks led to a 12-point deficit in the first quarter, helping to end their run in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
 
With the Idaho Vandals (16-6, 14-3 Big Sky) pushing the lead to 22 in the third quarter, the Lumberjacks (13-13, 10-10) trimmed it back down to 10 in the fourth before ultimately falling 67-53 in quarterfinals Tuesday night.
 
"They came out on fire and it felt like it kind of put us on our heels right away," said NAU head coach Loree Payne of Idaho's opening stretch. "We were just never able to get back into it. I'm super proud of the kids for bouncing back, we struggled putting the ball in the basket in the first half. That was a big challenge to get out of a hole against a really good team."
 
Idaho opened the night on a 7-0 run before Jacey Bailey hit a layup 3:15 into the game. Regan Schenck added a jumper to bring NAU within three before an 11-2 run put the Lumberjacks down by double-digits for the first time.
 
Schenck's three-pointer temporarily brought it back to nine at 18-9, with Khiarica Rasheed closing out the opening quarter with a three-point play. Schenck, who led the Lumberjacks with 12 points, opened the second with a jumper while NAU held Idaho scoreless for five minutes spanning the two quarters.
 
The Vandals missed six straight shots during the stretch, while also committing four of their 12 total turnovers in the game.
 
However, the Lumberjacks scored just the five points of their own as they hit 2-of-8 from the field. The shooting woes plagued NAU for the entire first half, hitting just just 7-of-35 from the field, including 1-of-11 from three-point range.
 
Scoring just 17 points in the first half, their lowest of the season, the Lumberjacks found themselves down 34-17 entering halftime.
 
"I thought that we got some good looks, we just didn't knock them down," Payne said. "Then I felt like we settled and we were almost pressing."
 
Opening up the second half with five quick points, the Vandals took their largest lead of the night at 39-17 before the Lumberjacks battled back to close out the third quarter. Jumpers by Bailey and Schenck around a three-pointer from JJ Nakai started a 13-3 run for NAU. Bailey and Nyah Moran put in a pair of layups in the paint in a span of 20 seconds, sending the Lumberjacks into the fourth quarter trailing 48-37.
 
A three-pointer by Miki'ala Maio cut Idaho's lead to 10, 52-42 with 8:41 remaining, before the Vandals stretched it to 19 to lock up the victory.
 
"They rebounded incredibly hard and it gave them some big second-chance opportunities," Payne said. "There in the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth, we cut it to like 10 or 11 and then we gave up three o-boards in a row and they scored a three off of it. That's just deflating, when you get the momentum but you give up o-boards and you're having to play defense for an entire minute."
 
Schenck was the lone Lumberjack to finish in double-digits, scoring 12 points along with seven rebounds and four assists. The 53 points wound up as NAU's lowest of the season, while Idaho's 50 rebounds matched the most against the Lumberjacks this season.
 
Sydney Gandy finished with 23 points leading the Vandals, followed by 22 for Gabi Harrington who also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Maio finished with nine points, while Nakai and Bailey each added eight. Rasheed and Nyah Moran each scored seven, with the latter wrapping up the night 3-of-3 from the field.