NAU Beats Idaho 86-69 on Senior Night, Clinches No. 4 Seed in Big Sky Tournament

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 4, 2022) – Just as they did two nights prior, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks defense stepped up with a lockdown second half when it mattered most.
 
Holding the Idaho Vandals (12-17, 11-9 Big Sky) to just 24.1 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (15-13, 12-8) locked up the No. 4 seed with an 86-69 victory in Friday's Senior Night in the Walkup Skydome. All five seniors, Sentia Bryant, Miki'ala Maio, Lauren Orndoff, Nina Radford and Khiarica Rasheed, scored in their final home game as the group was subbed out together with 37 seconds left in the game.
 
"I'm just proud of our seniors. Khia and Lauren have been here from the start, from when I got hired here. It seems like so long ago, but they have been the two that changed this program. It went from a program that had not won in over a decade to now we are in three straight winning seasons. We are now relevant in the Big Sky, we are now a contender for the championship. A lot of it has to do with the foundation Lauren and Khia laid."
 
Trailing 42-39 at the break, with Idaho hitting six first-half threes, Northern Arizona fell behind by six thanks to another three-pointer by Sydney Gandy and a layup by Beyonce Bea. However, the Vandals would hit just one more field goal in the final 7:49 of the quarter while the Lumberjacks put together the first of two 9-0 runs.
 
Led by a three-point play from Orndoff and a three-pointer from Emily Rodabaugh, the Lumberjacks regained the lead and never relinquished it.
 
Scoring another seven points on the second 9-0 run, Orndoff reached 12 points in the quarter and put the Lumberjacks ahead 64-51. After Maio closed out the third with a pair of baskets in the final minute, the senior added another early on in the fourth before Olivia Moran and Orndoff connected on three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.
 
Drives to the basket led to layups for Olivia Moran and Regan Schenck, giving Northern Arizona its largest lead of the night 80-59 with just 5:30 left on the clock.
 
Moran led the Lumberjacks with 18 points off the bench, leading a 41-point effort for Northern Arizona's reserves as Maio added nine and Nyah Moran finished with eight. Orndoff finished with 15 points, followed by 10 apiece for Schenck and Rodabaugh.
 
Finishing 8-of-11 from the field, Moran's finishing ability at the rim gave the Vandals problems throughout the night. Scoring six in the second and five apiece in the third and fourth, Moran's 22 minutes off the bench produced one of the most efficient games of the season for any Lumberjack.
 
"Both her and Nyah, I don't know, I just kind of feel like I saw a lot of myself in them, especially with how they play," Orndoff said of watching Olivia Moran's performance Friday night. "I'm just super proud of how far they have come."
 
The Lumberjacks also controlled the boards for the third straight game, outrebounding the Vandals 42-36, and won in second-chance points 12-6.
 
Shooting 50 percent from the field and breaking the 80-point mark once again, the Lumberjacks extended their trend dating back a few seasons. Now 28-1 when scoring 80 since the 2018-19 season, Northern Arizona is 9-0 this season. The team is also 19-3 when shooting at least 45 percent over the past two seasons, which coincidently is nearly the team's average this season at 44.5 percent.
 
While the Lumberjacks led for the final 16:25 of the game, they needed to battle back from an early deficit thanks to Gandy and Tiana Johnson's shooting for the Vandals.
 
Each hitting a three in the game's opening minute, Gandy and Johnson combined for 20 of Idaho's first 21 points en route to a 21-8 lead.
 
An 8-0 run to close the first quarter carried into the second with Olivia Moran making it a 10-0 run on a layup to begin the second. Northern Arizona kept the game within four throughout the rest of the second quarter before making their go-ahead run early in the third.
 
Northern Arizona's victory placed the Lumberjacks into a tie for fourth with the Montana Lady Griz, who defeated Sacramento State on the road Friday night to also finish 12-8. By virtue of their victory over Idaho State earlier this season, the Lumberjacks will enter the Big Sky tournament as the No. 4 seed and will play the No. 5 Lady Griz on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
 
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