FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 23, 2022) – Wrapping up their Big Sky Conference regular season road schedule, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks complete their week-long road trip over the weekend with trips to Idaho and Utah.
After facing first-place Idaho State on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Pocatello, Idaho, Northern Arizona heads south to play the Weber State Wildcats at 1 p.m. in Ogden, Utah. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, as well as Hulu through the Disney Bundle.
With four games before the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise, Idaho, the Lumberjacks (12-12, 9-7 Big Sky) find themselves in a three-way tie for fourth place alongside the Montana Lady Griz (16-9, 9-7) and Sacramento State (13-12, 9-7). All 2.5 games back of third-place Southern Utah, at least one of the trio will miss out on a first-round bye at the conference tournament.
While the Lumberjacks face the Bengals (17-9, 13-4) and the 10th-place Wildcats (9-17, 5-12), the Lady Griz take on the Thunderbirds and the Montana State Bobcats in Missoula while the Hornets are on the road at Idaho and Eastern Washington.
Khiarica Rasheed enters the game just eight points away from tying for second all-time on Northern Arizona's scoring list while
Regan Schenck needs just 13 assists to tie for second on the all-time assists list.
IDAHO STATE
Set to complete the season series with the Bengals this week, it'll have been 82 days since their first meeting on Dec. 4 in Flagstaff.
Winning 81-74 in overtime, Northern Arizona rallied back from a nine-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 65 with just five seconds remaining,
Sierra Mich'l blocked a potential game-winning shot by Dora Goles as time expired in regulation. Down 72-71 with 1:32 left in overtime, a three-pointer by
Nyah Moran pushed the Lumberjacks in front before
Nina Radford's three pushed Northern Arizona in front for the final time with 34 seconds left.
Mich'l finished with a career-high 21 points, hitting 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, while
Khiarica Rasheed and
Miki'ala Maio each added 13 points. Northern Arizona shot just 3-of-11 from outside and committed a season-high 28 turnovers, but hit 26-of-39 from two-point range and held the Bengals to just 35.8 percent shooting
Idaho State played shorthanded in Flagstaff, with Callie Bourne, Diaba Konate and Ellie Smith all missing the contest. Bourne, Konate and Smith rank second, fourth and fifth respectively this season in minutes per game. Bourne has started 17 of her 19 games this season while Konate has started 12 of 17 and Smith all 24 she has played in.
Playing both games in Pocatello during the 2020-21 season, Northern Arizona dropped both games against Idaho State last year. The first meeting came down to the final minutes, with Northern Arizona leading 57-55 with 3:30 left in the game. Back down by five with 59 seconds left, a pair of three-pointers brought the Lumberjacks within one before falling 70-66.
The Bengals then won the second meeting two days later 78-65, with the Lumberjacks most recent win in Pocatello coming during the 2019-20 season. A 70-59 win followed a 81-77 victory during the 2018-19 season. The back-to-back road victories were the first in Pocatello for Northern Arizona since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
Leading the conference with 17.54 forced per game, Idaho State averages 17.9 points off opponent turnovers including 22 off Northern Arizona's 28 turnovers in December.
WEBER STATE
Winners of eight straight over the Wildcats, the Lumberjacks head to Ogden for the first time since Jan. 4, 2020.
Hosting Weber State for both meetings last season, Northern Arizona has played four of the past five meetings in Flagstaff while the other came in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise last March. After winning by double-digits in four straight meetings, the Dec. 2 game this season came down to the final minutes.
Up by five at 70-65 with 7:00 left on the clock, Weber State allowed Northern Arizona to go on a 6-0 run over the next three minutes. While the Wildcats took another lead with 3:38 left, a three from
Emily Rodabaugh regained the lead for the Lumberjacks before
Miki'ala Maio and
Regan Schenck closed out the victory with free throws down the stretch.
Four Lumberjacks reached double figures, led by Rasheed's 17 and Maio's 13. For Weber State, Daryn Hickok and Jadyn Matthews each reached 20 points and combined for more than half of the team's baskets from the field.
After starting conference play 3-1, including wins over Montana and Montana State in Ogden, the Wildcats went on losing streaks of six and four games. Weber State is 7-6 at home this season, but dropped its last two games at home to Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Fourth in the Big Sky in rebounding, much of Weber State's success on the boards comes through Matthews and Hickok. Both ranked among the conference's Top 10, Matthews enters the week third with 8.9 rebounds and Hickok's 7.6 ranked seventh.
Having hit just 1-of-10 from three-point range in the first meeting with Northern Arizona, Weber State ranks last in the Big Sky in threes made per game and in three-point percentage. Additionally, the team's 18.5 turnovers ranks 11th in the Big Sky while the Lumberjacks rank second with 16.2 turnovers forced per game.
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