FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 7, 2022) – Set for a pair of games within Central California, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will face a pair of fellow mid-major programs they are familiar with from recent seasons.
Set to play the Fresno State Bulldogs on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST in Fresno, Northern Arizona will treat the trip just as it would a Big Sky Conference road trip with another game just two hours south two days later. Taking on the Cal Poly Mustangs for a second consecutive season, the Lumberjacks will wrap up the brief trip with a 3 p.m. MST tip off on Saturday in San Luis Obispo.
After a two-game road trip in Arizona to face a pair of Pac-12 programs, a lone game in Riverside, Calif. and three games in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, Northern Arizona's final non-conference stretch will begin its preparation for conference play. Coming off a 76-65 victory against former Big Sky Conference foe Southern Utah on Saturday, the Lumberjacks (4-5, 0-0 Big Sky) hold a 3-0 record in three games against mid-major programs this season. Beating UC San Diego, California Baptist and Southern Utah by 33, six and 11 points respectively, Northern Arizona opened the 2022-23 season at No. 140 in the Division I Women's Basketball NET Rankings. Fresno State (4-5, 0-0 Mountain West) sit at No. 200 in the rankings following losses to Big Sky teams Sacramento State and Portland State by three combined points. Cal Poly (3-4, 0-0 Big West) sits at No. 229 with a loss to Sacramento State and a win over Fresno State.
While Northern Arizona has not faced Fresno State since 2019, with only
Regan Schenck and
Emily Rodabaugh on the roster, last season's game against Cal Poly in Flagstaff ended in an 88-73 victory. Rodabaugh's 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the win stand as the top performance among Northern Arizona's returners, followed by
Nyah Moran's 10 points.
Meanwhile Schenck is coming off a 15-point performance against Southern Utah, with eight rebounds and seven assists. Rodabaugh added 11 points, including a three-pointer to make it 18 consecutive games with at least one make from outside while freshman
Sophie Glancey finished with 15 points, her seventh double-digit game in nine appearances.
Schenck will be chasing history during the week as the senior enters Thursday's game just seven points away from 1,000 for her college career. Just 19 players in program history have reached 1,000 points, with just eight breaking the 1,100-point mark. Schenck is also eighth all-time in rebounds following the Southern Utah game with a chance to move into seventh this weekend as she sits just five behind Karli Rikli and is 106 away from matching the program's career assist record of 637.
Fresno State is led by Yanina Todorova's 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists. The 5-foot-10 senior guard averaged 5.8 points and 1.9 rebounds across 14 games last season before taking on a larger role this season. Just one other Bulldog, 5-foot-10 graduate transfer guard Amaya West, averages double figures this season. Sitting at 10.0 points, West is in her first season with Fresno State after transferring from Nevada this offseason. West is second to Todorova in points and rebounds (4.9) while tying for first in assists at 1.6. Senior forward Amiee Book is third on the team with 9.7 points and fourth with 4.1 rebounds.
Voted ninth in the Mountain West Preseason Poll, Fresno State finished the 2021-22 season 11-18 overall and 7-10 in conference play.
Just one player on Cal Poly averages more than 10 points, with sophomore Annika Shah's 10.3 sitting atop the team. First-year head coach Shanele Stires has 11 Mustangs averaging at least 13.0 minutes per game this season. Senior Julia Nielacna's 7.8 points is second on the team with Natalia Ackerman's 4.6 rebounds leading the team.
The Mustangs landed 10th in the 11-team Big West Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 3-22 last season with a 2-13 conference record.
Thursday's game will be available to watch
here while live stats can be followed
here. Saturday's game at Cal Poly will be available on ESPN+
here with live stats
here.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's basketball team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook for updates throughout the season.
