TUCSON, Ariz. (Nov. 10, 2023) – Facing its second Pac-12 opponent in as many games this season, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to face Arizona in the McKale Center where they were topped 87-64.
Every Lumberjack who checked in found the points column as NAU falls to 0-2 on the season and the Wildcats improve to 2-0. Both
Nyah Moran and
Emily Rodabaugh scored in double figures with 11 points each, followed by true freshman
Allie Cummins who added eight points – her first career points for the Blue and Gold.
"I am very proud of the team and how they battled tonight. We are still in the building process of figuring things out as a team, and we are excited to learn from this and apply our growth in the games next week," said head coach
Loree Payne.
The Lumberjacks showed they came to play in the first quarter, making seven of their first 10 shot attempts.
Olivia Moran showed up big in the game's first moments, draining a triple to make it a one-point, 13-12, game in Arizona's favor. She then made a layup to tie the contest 14-14 and was fouled, making her free throw attempt to give NAU its first lead of the night.
Once the Wildcats settled in, they used an 8-0 run to pull ahead 28-19, keeping the Lumberjacks scoreless for two minutes to lead 30-21 after a quarter. Despite the deficit, NAU shot 60 percent (9-15) from the field in the first frame behind Rodabaugh's seven first quarter points. The fifth year was a perfect three-for-three from the field in the first 10 minutes. Arizona seemed like it couldn't miss in the early goings as well, making 12-of-17 from the field.
Northern Arizona kept the Wildcats scoreless for over three minutes during the second quarter but couldn't make up much ground as it made just 4-of-15 from the field in the second frame. Defensively, NAU held the Wildcats to 5-of-12 from the field and forced five turnovers compared to just one in the first quarter. With 1:43 left to play in the half,
Nyah Moran and
Leia Beattie converted on four straight free throws to make it a 38-34 game, but the Lumberjacks didn't make a field goal for the rest of the half while Arizona went on a 6-0 run, leading 44-34 at the break.
Arizona pulled ahead in the third quarter, outscoring the Lumberjacks 20-to-12.
Sophie Glancey was a perfect two-for-two during the frame with a three pointer to add five points, but overall NAU was held to 5-of-14 from the field while the Wildcats made 7-of-15 and outrebounded the Lumberjacks 12-to-4. Heading into the fourth quarter, UA led 64 to 46.
Continuing to fight until the end, the Lumberjacks shot 42.9 percent from the field with four three-pointers in the final quarter but turned the ball over eight times during the frame. The Lumberjacks made six of their final eight attempts from the field, but Arizona outscored NAU 23-to-18 in the fourth and used a 12-0 run during the period to secure the 87-64 victory.
Arizona had five players score in double figures as it made 34 of its 65 attempts from the field to shoot 52.3 percent on the night. Northern Arizona was out-rebounded, 43-to-26, and outscored in the paint, 52-to-24. The Wildcats were able to force 19 Lumberjack turnovers that it turned into 19 points.
Northern Arizona shot 24-for-58 (41.4%) from the field and were 9-of-27 (33.3%) from three-point range while making 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Grace Beasley led the team with five rebounds, while
Taylor Feldman had four boards and dished out a team-high five assists.
The Lumberjacks' home opener is set for Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time at the Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff where NAU will host Benedictine Mesa on ESPN+.
