FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 17, 2022) – A three-pointer from
Lauren Orndoff opened the game, with the Lumberjacks (12-11, 9-6 Big Sky) taking a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the night.
Eventually growing to double-digits following a 9-0 run, Northern Arizona's lead never dipped below 27 in the second half on the way to a 94-66 victory over Portland State (5-16, 0-13).
"I feel like this was a really important turning point for us, especially going on a three-game road trip against three really good teams who play well at home," said Lumberjacks head coach
Loree Payne. "We are capable of scoring big numbers, we are capable of defending, we are capable of a lot of things and I think sometimes we just need to see that playout in a game situation."
Just about everything went right for the Lumberjacks on both ends of the floor, as the team shot 57.8 percent from the field against the Vikings, including an 80-percent second quarter. Defensively, Northern Arizona came up with 10 first-half steals and finished with a season-high of 14.
Scoring 27 points off Portland State's 20 turnovers, Northern Arizona's pressure forced what seemed to be countless turnovers in the opening quarter.
With four turnovers in less than two minutes, Portland State watched Northern Arizona turn a 7-3 lead into a 14-5 advantage. Three more Vikings turnovers came in a little more than a minute near the end of the quarter, with the Lumberjacks pushing their lead up to 22-9.
Eight different Lumberjacks scored in the second quarter, with 11 on the board in the first half. With
Sentia Bryant adding five points in the second half, 12 players in total scored Thursday night led by Orndoff's 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
As Orndoff reached 20 points for the fifth time this season and seventh in her career, it was the first back-to-back 20-point performance of her Northern Arizona career. Meanwhile,
Khiarica Rasheed returned from missing last Saturday's Montana State game with an illness and scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in just 14 minutes. Starting in place of Rasheed following her career day against the Bobcats,
Fatoumata Jaiteh added 10 points in 16 minutes.
Leading the Lumberjacks with seven rebounds and seven assists to go along with seven points and three steals,
Regan Schenck put herself on pace for a triple-double before playing just 10 minutes in the second half.
Seven points, four rebounds and two assists from Schenck came in the second quarter, where the Lumberjacks closed on an 18-3 run going into the break.
"I just think we were all working together," Schenck said. "All five of us on the court, no matter what five it was, we were all working together. We were getting into opening spaces and holding off players in the zone when we needed to. We were all just clicking."
A three-pointer from
Nyah Moran pushed the lead to a game-high of 37, 90-53, with just 4:15 left on the clock, before the Vikings closed out the game on a 13-4 run.
Set to face Southern Utah on Monday in Cedar City, followed by trips to Idaho State on Thursday and Weber State on Saturday, Northern Arizona's considerable advantage allowed Payne to spread minutes across the entire roster ahead of a crucial week on the road.
"It puts us in a good position to be well-rested, but also ready to go" Payne said. "And kudos to Portland State. They just came off of a shutdown, they had three games canceled. For them to come out of that and have to come to 7,000 feet, they were battling."
With just five games remaining, Northern Arizona sits in a tie for fourth in the Big Sky following Sacramento State's home loss against Weber State Thursday night. Both schools are two games behind Southern Utah for third place and a half game ahead of sixth-place Montana.
As Northern Arizona is idle on Saturday, Sacramento State hosts Idaho State and Montana travels to Portland State.
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Gallery: (2-17-2022) NAU WBB vs. Portland State - 2/17/22
