LA JOLLA, Calif. (Nov. 19, 2023) – For the second-straight season, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team has defeated UC San Diego, this time earning a 74-69 decision on the road in La Jolla, Calif., at LionTree Arena.
Led by four in double figures, the Lumberjacks (2-2, 0-0 Big Sky) had a big second quarter to help seal the victory.
Leia Beattie led all scorers with an NAU career-high of 20 points, going 5-for-10 from the field with three triples and also adding four steals, three assists and a block.
Fifth-year senior
Emily Rodabaugh was right behind her with a season-high 17 points. Rodabaugh pulled down a game-high seven rebounds and drained five three-pointers. She now has 184 made three-pointers in her career and needs just 10 more to break NAU's all-time record.
Grace Beasley (15 pts) and
Sophie Glancey (10 pts, 7 rebs) rounded out the scoring for the Lumberjacks while
Nyah Moran added six points and dished a team-high four assists.
UC San Diego drops to 2-3 overall and 0-0 in Big West Conference action.
"I'm very proud of the team today in securing a big road win. We did some really good things on both ends of the court. Our upperclassmen were solid and knocked down some big shots when we needed them to," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We are excited to head over to Las Vegas for two tough opponents this week."
UCSD shot 61.5 percent in the opening frame and led by as many as five points in the first quarter. With 19 seconds remaining in the first period, the Tritons led 19-14 before Beasley hit a step-back jumper to make it a three-point contest going into the second.
Beasley was big again to start the second quarter as a three pointer tied the game 21-21.
Nyah Moran followed with a jump shot of her own to give NAU the lead and the Lumberjacks never looked back, opening the frame on a 9-2 run. It would be the best quarter of the game for the Lumberjacks who outscored UCSD 26-13 during the frame.
Behind Beattie's eight points, Northern Arizona shot 47.4 percent from the field during the frame and held the Tritons to 38.5 percent. Beattie didn't miss a shot from the field in the first half, including going a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range as the lead extended out to 10 points and NAU led 42-32 at the break.
Picking up where it left off, NAU's lead grew to 17 points in the third quarter after Beasley made another three-pointer. But the Tritons weren't done and gave the Lumberjacks all they could, going on a 9-0 run to trim NAU's lead down to eight points. UCSD continued to apply the pressure and when the clock ticked under a minute in the third quarter, the Lumberjacks were clinging to a four-point lead after being outscored 19-to-13 in the third period.
Northern Arizona regrouped and pushed the lead back out to seven points with nine minutes to play, but UCSD continued to hang around and made it a one-point game, 58-57. The Lumberjacks needed a veteran presence to put the game back out of reach, and they got it following two free throws from Beasley and a big three-pointer from Rodabaugh to make it a six-point contest. From there, the game would not get closer than four points the rest of the way as NAU held on to the 74-69 victory for its first road win of the year.
Rodabaugh was huge in the fourth quarter, adding eight points to help secure the win.
The Lumberjacks forced 19 turnovers that they turned into 21 points, but UCSD shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the field while holding NAU to 39 percent (23-59). Northern Arizona relied heavily on their three-point shooting as NAU made 10 on the night and were also 18-for-24 at the free throw line. In the paint, Northern Arizona was outscored 32-to-14.
Northern Arizona now travels to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Las Vegas Holiday Classic at the Orleans Arena. NAU first takes on Portland on Friday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time before playing Youngstown State on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. MST. The Lumberjacks return to Rolle to close out November on Wednesday, Nov. 29 against UNLV at 6 p.m. MST.
