FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 20, 2022) – With just five games remaining on their Big Sky Conference regular season schedule, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks face a crucial road stretch of three games in six days.
Beginning the run in Cedar City, Utah, Northern Arizona (12-11, 9-6 Big Sky) takes on third-place Southern Utah (15-10, 11-5) as it looks to keep pace with the Montana Lady Griz (16-8, 9-6) and the Sacramento State Hornets (13-12, 9-7) in the battle for a first-round bye at the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise, Idaho.
Northern Arizona and Montana sit just a game and a half back of Southern Utah, with Sacramento State two back. All have either four or five games left to play, including a handful of meetings with one another. The Lumberjacks will look to avoid a season sweep against the Thunderbirds and move within a half game of third place as the team's tipoff at 6:30 p.m. MT on Monday. The game will be available on ESPN+, as well as Hulu with the Disney Bundle.
In the first meeting of the year between the teams on Jan. 8 in Flagstaff, Northern Arizona fell behind early and never took a lead against Southern Utah. Trailing by just two off and on throughout the first half, Northern Arizona trailed 46-44 with 4:16 left in the third quarter before an 8-0 run pushed the Thunderbirds to their first double-digit advantage of the afternoon.
Finishing the day shooting just 35 percent from the field, Northern Arizona finished with their fourth-worst performance this season and third-worst three-point shooting day at 26.3 percent (5-of-19). Just one starter finished with double-digits as
Lauren Orndoff scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, including six points in the fourth quarter.
Emily Rodabaugh led the Lumberjacks with 13 points, hitting 2-of-5 from outside.
Outrebounded 45-33, with the Thunderbirds holding a 33-25 advantage on the defensive boards while shooting 40.4 percent themselves, the Lumberjacks managed just five second-chance points on their 39 missed field goals.
Darri Dotson and Lizzy Williamson each grabbed 10 rebounds, with Dotson finishing with a double-double thanks to 15 points. Cherita Daugherty led Southern Utah with 18 points while Samantha Johnston added 15 points as well.
After 10 years in the Big Sky together, Monday will be the final regular season meeting between the teams as conference foes with Southern Utah departing for the Western Athletic Conference in July. Northern Arizona has not been swept by Southern Utah during their tenure in the conference together, with the Lumberjacks holding an 11-8 advantage leading into Monday's game.
Already the program's record holder in rebounds and games played,
Khiarica Rasheed could move into second all-time on Northern Arizona's career scoring list. Needing just 11 points to pass Alyssa Wahl for second all-time, Rasheed would do so by reaching her season average of 11.7 points per game.
During conference play, Rasheed has averaged 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Meanwhile,
Regan Schenck is averaging 6.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per Big Sky game. Schenck sits just 17 assists behind Kim Winkfield for second all-time at Northern Arizona. Already fourth all-time in a single season with 149 assists last year, Schenck's 134 assists in 2021-22 is just 43 away from the most in a single season. With at least six games remaining on the schedule, Schenck is on pace to move into second all-time and could push for the single-season record.
After facing Southern Utah on Monday, Northern Arizona will head to Pocatello, Idaho to face the first-place Idaho State Bengals on Thursday before heading to Ogden, Utah for a matchup with the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
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