DAVIS, Calif. (December 19, 2022) – Having led by as much as eight in the first half, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks' advantage slipped to a 15-point deficit with just 8:24 left on the clock Monday night in California against the UC Davis Aggies.
However, a 19-4 stretch in the game's final five minutes paved the way for Northern Arizona's largest comeback since last January against Portland State. Erasing the Aggies' 15-point lead, the Lumberjacks (6-6, 0-0 Big Sky) appeared to be positioned for a third overtime game in California this season before UC Davis (4-6, 0-0 Big Sky) gave Northern Arizona one final possession thanks to a missed layup with two seconds remaining. Fouled before even inbounding the ball, the Lumberjacks closed out the comeback with a pair of
Olivia Moran free throws for the 83-81 victory.
"We're definitely learning a lot," said Lumberjacks head coach
Loree Payne, with Northern Arizona now victorious on the road in double overtime against California Baptist, in overtime against Cal Poly and now in a 15-point comeback at UC Davis. "All of these will get us that experience going into conference."
A 13-3 run by the Aggies in the second quarter erased the Lumberjacks' early eight-point advantage. A quick 7-0 run put the home team in front by a game-high six points just before halftime, but a trio of Northern Arizona free throws brought it back down to just a three-point advantage in the opening minute of the third.
From there, the Aggies took control. An 11-2 run spanning nearly four minutes of play put the Lumberjacks down 55-43. While Northern Arizona answered over the next three minutes, coming back within six thanks to layups by
Nyah Moran,
Olivia Moran and
Regan Schenck, UC Davis pushed it back to 12 and then 14 with two layups by Tova Sabel in the last 45 seconds of the quarter.
Sabel made it 15 with a three-point play early in the fourth and Evanne Turner kept it at 15 with a three-pointer to answer
Nyah Moran's own three.
From there, Schenck took control.
"She put the team on her back and took over," Payne said. "She didn't do it alone, obviously Montana knocked down a big shot, Olivia was phenomenal in the fourth quarter as she came in and played really confidently, (
Fatoumata Jaiteh) came in and gave us some great minutes in the fourth quarter. It was definitely a team effort, but it was led in full charge by Regan and her aggressiveness to the hoop."
Finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals, nearly half of Schenck's totals came in the fourth quarter. Scoring 12 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists, Schenck's poise in the face of a 15-point deficit showed immediately after Turner's three-pointer.
Driving to the basket for a layup, Schenck then set up
Sophie Glancey for a lay-in deep under the basket about a minute later. Hitting a pair of free throws with Northern Arizona still down 14 and 6:34 on the clock, Schenck began her team's critical 12-0 run with 5:03 left.
Connecting on a three-pointer, Schenck grabbed a UC Davis miss and found
Montana Oltrogge open for a three at 4:28. A timeout by the Aggies paused the run, and all scoring in the game for nearly two minutes, until Schenck pulled up for another three and cut the deficit down to 77-73 with 2:49 remaining. Back in possession of the ball after a stop on the defensive end with just 1:12 left,
Olivia Moran plowed her way to the rim for a three-point play to bring the Lumberjacks within one at 77-76.
After appearing to have the last stop needed to try to retake the lead, a missed three for the Aggies bounced off a pair of Lumberjacks and extended UC Davis' possession. A block by
Olivia Moran left the Aggies inbounding with just two seconds left on the shot clock, leading to Turner connecting on heave from well behind the three-point line as the shot clock expired.
Still needing four points, the Lumberjacks got two from
Olivia Moran putting in another tough layup with 22 seconds remaining and
Nyah Moran converting 1-of-2 free throws after coming up with a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Clinging to an 80-79 lead with 16 seconds on the clock, UC Davis left the door open as Turner hit just 1-of-2 from the line as well.
With nine points in the game's final 1:12,
Olivia Moran tied it first at the free-throw line before securing the victory. Hitting two to tie the game at 81 after coming up with an offensive rebound,
Olivia Moran found herself right back at the free-throw line minutes later as UC Davis' potential game-winner fell short, Schenck grabbed the rebound and the Aggies fouled before the ball entered play with 2.3 on the clock.
"Things definitely switched in the momentum, and I am super proud of the kids for having that mentality to fight the Hail Mary of a three going in at the end of the shot clock," Payne said. "That could have been really deflating for them, but I think that shows the growth and maturity of our team to be able to put that kind of comeback on in the fourth quarter."
Nyah Moran finished with 16 points, adding two rebounds and a steal, while
Olivia Moran scored 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Glancey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and three rebounds.
Emily Rodabaugh connected on a trio of three-pointers to account for her nine points, extending her streak of games with a made three to 21 straight games.
Winners of two straight and three of their past four since the Paradise Jam, the Lumberjacks will head to Las Vegas for their non-conference finale against the UNLV Lady Rebels (9-2, 0-0 Mountain West). The Lady Rebels fell to Oklahoma State, 87-62, on Sunday in Stillwater before returning home to close out their own non-conference schedule against the Lumberjacks.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's basketball team on
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