POCATELLO, Idaho (February 24, 2022) – Despite leading for nearly 34 minutes, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks couldn't hold on against the first-place Idaho State Bengals Thursday night in Pocatello.
Outscored by 12 in the fourth quarter and 18 in the second half, the Lumberjacks (12-13, 9-8 Big Sky) missed an opportunity to sweep the Bengals (18-9, 14-4) for the first time since the 2004-05 season with the 76-66 loss.
"Their top players got hot and hit a couple back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter and we had some pretty critical turnovers down the stretch," said Lumberjacks head coach
Loree Payne. "One of the things that really stands out is rebounding. To give up 21 O-boards, we gave up some critical O-boards that led to big scores for them."
Despite shooting just 34.8 percent from the field, Idaho State wound up nearly 10 points over its season average. Scoring 24 of their 76 points on second-chance opportunities, the Bengals effectively built their comeback off offensive rebounding.
Trailing 36-28 at the break, Idaho State opened the second half on a 7-0 run with all three field goals coming after an offensive rebound. After scoring 12 second-chance points in the third quarter, Idaho State added 10 more in the fourth including a pair of three-pointers by Montana Oltrogge who scored 16 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Northern Arizona built its early lead off of outside shooting as well, with
Emily Rodabaugh connected on a trio of three-pointers in the six minutes. Leading 11-4 thanks to nine by Rodabaugh, the Lumberjacks stayed in front of the Bengals for the entire first half.
With their lead cut to one at 29-28 two minutes before halftime, the Lumberjacks fought back with a dazzling final three possessions.
Drawing a pair of defenders outside of the paint, Regan Scheck laid off a perfect pass to
Fatoumata Jaiteh for an easy layup before Northern Arizona forced a quick turnover on the defensive end.
Nina Radford added a layup to push the lead back to five points and a missed three-pointer for the Bengals put the Lumberjacks on a fastbreak with just seconds left on the clock.
Finding
Lauren Orndoff open behind the arc for a three-pointer, Schenck recorded her fifth assist of the first half and finished with seven.
Rodabaugh led Northern Arizona with 20 points, hitting 6-of-9 from three-point range during the game, followed by 13 for Orndoff and 10 for
Khiarica Rasheed. Coming off the bench for the third consecutive game, Rasheed's point total slid her into second on Northern Arizona's all-time scoring list, two points past Alyssa Wahl's 1,678.
Northern Arizona answered back to Idaho State's early third-quarter run, scoring six straight to remain in control at 42-35.
However, the rebounding struggles helped lead to a 7-0 run by the Bengals capped off by a second-chance three from Estefania Ors to tie the game at 44. A three from Rodabaugh temporarily stalled Idaho State from taking control, but an 11-1 run over a two-minute stretch of the fourth quarter sealed Northern Arizona's fate.
Northern Arizona hit just two shots from the field in the game's final 5:58, as Idaho State closed out the night on a 26-9 run that began with the first of four three-pointers in the quarter for Oltrogge.
Outrebounding Northern Arizona 50-35, Idaho State finished with its highest rebounding total this season. In addition to a 24-8 advantage in second-chance points, the Bengals beat the Lumberjacks 19-7 on points off turnovers despite Northern Arizona committing just two more in the game.
With the Montana Lady Griz defeating the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Thursday night, Northern Arizona is tied with only the Sacramento State Hornets in the battle for fifth in the Big Sky. Additionally, the two programs lead Idaho by just a half game and the Vandals play two of their final four games this season against winless Portland State.
The Lumberjacks will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak this season Saturday afternoon in Ogden, Utah against the Weber State Wildcats (10-17, 6-12). Weber State defeated Portland State 73-65 Wednesday night in Ogden.
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