PORTLAND, Ore. (January 29, 2022) – Trailing by 11 points with eight minutes remaining in the game, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks gathered at their bench following a timeout by head coach
Loree Payne.
After taking a one-point lead midway through the third quarter, their first of the game, the Lumberjacks found themselves back down by double-digits after a pair of turnovers coupled with back-to-back layups for the Vikings.
"It was just a timeout to settle them down a little bit," Payne said. "I felt like we were working really hard defensively. I was just trying to settle them down to head into the home stretch. We were really talking about having to play fundamental and create some offense from our defense which is exactly what they went out and did."
And what followed was a fitting end to a 12-game losing streak to Portland State (5-11, 0-8 Big Sky). Outscoring the Vikings 27-5, including an 18-0 run to close out the game, the Lumberjacks (9-8, 6-3) emerged with a 79-68 victory Saturday night.
In addition to the dominant fourth quarter comeback, with Northern Arizona hitting 6-of-6 from three-point range while holding Portland State 0-of-6 from outside,
Khiarica Rasheed captured another program record. Grabbing her fourth rebound of the game in the opening quarter, the senior surpassed Amy Patton's record of 831 rebounds as she finished with 25 points and 12 boards.
"We looked in the room and said nobody here has beat Portland State and we have a great opportunity to do that," Payne said. "With Khia breaking the all-time rebounding record, it was just a really exciting night. Especially for our Northwest kids to really show out and play the way they are capable of playing."
An offensive rebound by
Miki'ala Maio turned into a put back jumper for the senior on Northern Arizona's first possession out of Payne's timeout. A turnover by Portland State on its next trip to its offensive end led to a three-pointer by
Olivia Moran, the first of the six in the quarter.
After the teams traded baskets and free throws, the stage was set for the Lumberjacks 18-0 run, the largest since the 2019-20 season.
Down 68-61 with 3:39 left,
Regan Schenck began the run with a pull-up three off an inbounds play.
Nyah Moran made it back-to-back threes in the span of 25 seconds after a steal by
Lauren Orndoff, and
Sierra Mich'l retook the lead for the Lumberjacks after Schenck found her open under the basket on a fastbreak.
Lauren Orndoff's second three-pointer of the quarter, and career-best fourth of the game, coupled with another layup for Mich'l put Northern Arizona in commanding control with just 1:31 left.
"Some of the kids made big shots," Payne said. "We haven't shot the ball very well the last couple games and we started out not shooting the ball well. They really just worked it around, got open looks and stepped up. I couldn't be more proud of them with how they closed out that game."
Another three for
Nyah Moran assured the Lumberjacks of the comeback victory, erasing a 16-point deficit in total, the largest for Northern Arizona since February 2020.
Finishing with 12 assists, Schenck owns three of Northern Arizona's top 11 single-game performances. Having totaled 12 last season against Sacramento State, Schenck's 12 against the Vikings matches it for fifth-most in a single game while her 14 against Grand Canyon tied the program record.
Schenck added nine rebounds with the Lumberjacks outrebounding the Vikings 39-24, including 14-4 on the offensive end. While Rasheed led the team with 25 points, Orndoff finished with 15 and
Nyah Moran added 10 on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.
With five consecutive road games in the rearview, Northern Arizona hosts five of its next six games beginning on Monday against the Northern Colorado Bears. The Bears fell to 6-10 overall and 2-6 in the Big Sky following a 68-56 loss in Pocatello, Idaho to the Idaho State Bengals Saturday afternoon.
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