FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 29, 2022) – Despite missing 16 consecutive shots from the field over the span of 6:30 in the first half, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks battled back to come within four points of the Idaho State Bengals in the fourth quarter.
A 7-0 run across just a minute of play brought the Lumberjacks (6-8, 0-1 Big Sky) within four points and forced a timeout by the Bengals (6-6, 1-0 Big Sky) with 3:43 left in the fourth quarter. Timely three-pointers from Idaho State gave the visitors some cushion down the stretch as Northern Arizona cut the lead back to four with less than 30 seconds remaining, but ultimately couldn't come all the way back from what was a 19-point deficit in Thursday night's 69-64 loss.
"Obviously not the outcome we wanted tonight. We definitely didn't have our best performance tonight," said Lumberjacks head
Loree Payne. "I felt like we were just pressing the whole game and really not taking our time. We missed a lot of easy shots that eight out of 10 times, we make those shots."
With the Lumberjacks cold from the field, the Bengals built a 30-11 advantage with 4:18 left before halftime. Northern Arizona shaved seven points off Idaho State's lead in the final four minutes of the half, aided by the strong play of freshman
Taylor Feldman and four turnovers courtesy of the Lumberjacks' pressure.
After Feldman converted a three-point play at the free-throw line,
Fatoumata Jaiteh cashed in a turnover with a layup. A minute later,
Regan Schenck and Jaiteh connected on back-to-back layups, with Feldman hitting a jumper to close out the half with the Lumberjacks trailing 36-24.
"Our pressure defense definitely picked things up for us," Payne said. "It was great to see some younger kids have some minutes, some kids that don't normally get minutes, come in and do some really good things."
The Bengals built their advantage back to 16 in the third quarter, but an 8-0 run for the Lumberjacks put Northern Arizona back in the game entering the fourth.
Feldman,
Saniyah Neverson and
Emily Rodabaugh all hit baskets inside the paint as Idaho State struggled to score with six consecutive misses from the field. Schenck tacked on a pair of free throws to finish the run, setting the stage for Northern Arizona's last push.
Holding the Bengals without a field goal from two-point range in the fourth, the Lumberjacks' comeback was halted by four fourth-quarter threes by Idaho State and just enough success from the free-throw line. Finley Garnett and Callie Bourne hit from outside around an
Olivia Moran layup, regaining a 14-point lead with 8:19 left.
Down 57-46 at the final media timeout, an offensive rebound started a quick 7-0 run for the Lumberjacks. Jaiteh converted the board into two points at the free-throw line and
Nyah Moran hit a three-pointer, one of just three in the game for the Lumberjacks, off an assist by Schenck. A steal by Feldman set up Jaiteh for a rebound off a pass from
Nyah Moran, forcing the Lumberjacks to take a 30-second break just 1:09 after the media timeout.
Carsyn Boswell put the Bengals back up by seven with a three-pointer and after
Montana Oltrogge came up with a putback layup against her former team, Sophia Covello connected on the fourth make from outside in the quarter for Idaho State.
Northern Arizona cut the eight-point lead back to four but did so with just 27 seconds remaining. Despite hitting just 57.1 percent from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, Idaho State connected eight times from the line to preserve its lead and eventual victory.
Led by Garnett's 27 points and 4-of-8 shooting from outside, including 17 in the first half, Idaho State held a 39 percent to 35 percent advantage from the field and 35 percent to 13 percent advantage from outside. Beating the Lumberjacks 49-42 overall on the boards, Idaho State ultimately tied Northern Arizona on the offensive end at 16-16 and committed six more turnovers at 16-10.
Schenck led the Lumberjacks with 15 points, followed by 13 for
Montana Oltrogge who completed another double-double with 11 rebounds and 13 for Jaiteh who set a new career high. Feldman added seven points and three steals off the bench, playing her highest career minute total against a Division I opponent.
The Lumberjacks will now host the Weber State Wildcats (4-9, 0-1 Big Sky) on Saturday at 2 p.m. on Findlay Toyota Court. Weber State fell to Northern Colorado 67-39 Thursday night in Ogden, Utah for a fifth straight loss. The Wildcats scored just five points in the opening quarter and 12 in the first half, shooting just 21.7 percent from the field.
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