St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (November 24, 2022) – Playing the first of three consecutive games in the Paradise Jam's Reef Tournament, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks proved they can play with the Power Five competition.
Leading by four midway through the first quarter and holding the same advantage early on in the second, the Lumberjacks (3-3, 0-0 Big Sky) forced the Arkansas Razorbacks (6-0, 0-0 SEC) into a battle through the first half. A 12-0 run by Arkansas sent the Razorbacks into the break up by nine, with the Lumberjacks cutting the deficit down to four in the second half. However, another 10-0 run late in the third by the Razorbacks led to an 82-73 Arkansas victory.
The nine-point loss for the Lumberjacks included a 10-point advantage in scoring off turnovers for the Razorbacks. Finishing the game with 28 turnovers, the most since finishing with 28 against Idaho State last December, Northern Arizona granted Arkansas free opportunities while performing better from the field.
Shooting 41.9 percent from the field, the Lumberjacks edged the Razorbacks' 41.2 percent while connecting on 10-of-25 from three-point range. A pair of those three-pointers came from
Emily Rodabaugh in the second quarter, the first to give Northern Arizona a one-point lead and the second coming 23 seconds later to extend the lead to 24-20.
The threes continued to fall in the second half, with
Olivia Moran hitting a three to close the third quarter and another to open the fourth as well as
Nyah Moran connecting on a pair in the final seven minutes.
Rodabaugh,
Olivia Moran and
Nyah Moran combined for 49 of Northern Arizona's 73 points against Arkansas.
Olivia Moran led the Lumberjacks with 17 points off the bench, hitting 6-of-9 from the field, followed by 16 apiece for Rodabaugh and
Nyah Moran. Rodabaugh added six rebounds and three steals while
Nyah Moran finished with three steals and a pair of assists.
Trailing by a game-high 18 points late in the third quarter, Northern Arizona did not back down.
After
Olivia Moran cut the lead down to 12 with her pair of three-pointers,
Nyah Moran added one of her own before following up with a steal and old-fashioned three-point play. A second three-pointer by
Nyah Moran in the fourth brought the Lumberjacks back within seven points before the Razorbacks closed out the final 3:14 with a 12-10 advantage.
Fouls also put the Lumberjacks in a hole, with the Razorbacks finishing with a 30-14 advantage at the line. Hitting 21 to Northern Arizona's 11, Arkansas took advantage of a 32-18 difference in fouls. Finishing 13-of-18 from the line in the second half, the Razorbacks balanced out their struggles from outside. Connecting on 1-of-6 from outside across the final 20 minutes, Arkansas was led by Samara Spencer's 27 points including three of the team's five three-pointers.
The Lumberjacks will tip off at the same time on Friday, facing the No. 25 Kansas State Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. from the UVI Sports & Fitness Center in St. Thomas. Kansas State opened the Reef Tournament with a 76-38 victory over Northern Arizona's Saturday opponent, Clemson, on Thursday night. The game can be streamed on ESPN 3 with a cable subscription and live stats are available
here.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's basketball team on
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