FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Nov. 15, 2023) – In a dominate performance from start to finish, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team topped Benedictine Mesa 91-37 tonight at the Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff.
The win is the first of the season for NAU who now improve to 1-2 on the young season. The Redhawks, an NAIA member, drop to 0-3.
Four players scored in double figures, led by
Saniyah Neverson who came off the bench and produced her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Olivia Moran made 5-of-7 from the field to also score 13 points, followed by true freshman
Allie Cummins who added a career best 12 points.
Emily Rodabaugh rounded out the scoring with 10 points for her second consecutive double figure scoring game.
Turnovers played a huge role in the victory, as the Lumberjacks forced 26 and scored 40 points off them. On the night, the Lumberjacks shot 47.5 percent (38-80) and held the Redhawks to 20 percent (12-60) from the field.
NAU improves to 38-3 since 2018-19 when scoring at least 80 points, including a perfect 26-0 at home. At the Rolle Activity Center, the Lumberjacks have now won 19 of their past 22 games and have won five-straight home openers.
"I'm super proud of the team. Obviously, getting our first win at home is a big thing for us after playing two power-five teams to open the season. It was nice to flip that around, flip the script, and get the opportunity to work a lot on the things we've learned in our first two games," said head coach
Loree Payne. "I'm really proud of the team and now it's time to head off – we don't have another opponent who doesn't match equally with us moving forward, so we're excited to get on the road and play on Sunday. I'm proud of our team and how we performed tonight."
Benedictine Mesa took an early 5-4 lead as both teams settled in. From there, the Lumberjacks went on a 6-0 run with four of the points coming off turnovers to lead 10-5 at the first media timeout. After the break, Northern Arizona strung together runs of 7-0 and 6-0 to lead 25-10 after the first quarter. As a team, NAU forced nine turnovers and had five blocks in the first period, shooting 52.2 percent from the field behind seven early points from
Leia Beattie.
It was all NAU in the second quarter, exploding on a 17-0 run over 6:16, keeping the Redhawks off the board for the final 6:45 as they missed 10-straight from the field. The Lumberjacks outscored BENU 25-4 in the second quarter and took a 50-14 lead into the half.
During the first half, NAU shot 54 percent from the field with seven blocks and 20 forced turnovers, scoring 29 points off turnovers. Despite scoring 50 first half points, the Lumberjacks were balanced with no players in double figures, led by Neverson with nine points off the bench. Benedictine Mesa was held to 6-of-26 (23.1%) from the field during the first 20 minutes.
The run extended to 21-0 into the second half. NAU cooled down a bit, shooting 45.5 percent from the field in the third quarter, but still outscoring the Redhawks 23-13. The defense still cracked down, holding Benedictine Mesa to 3-of-14 from the field. Heading into the fourth, NAU held a secure 73-27 lead.
A 12-0 run in the fourth quarter helped the Lumberjacks put the Redhawks away for good. Northern Arizona outscored BENU 18-10 in the final period thanks to three triples, two of which came from Cummins during the frame.
Three players dished four assists in the win in
Reilly Clark,
Olivia Moran and
Grace Beasley.
Sophie Glancey contributed with three of the team's eight blocks along with six rebounds, and both Beasley and
Leia Beattie had two steals.
Ava Schmidt also added seven points and seven rebounds.
Taylor Feldman finished with nine points on 4-of-5 from the field plus five boards.
Northern Arizona returns to action this Sunday (Nov. 19) at UC San Diego with tipoff set for 3 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
