| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 7 |
Northern Arizona vs. UNLV (Wednesday, Nov. 29 | 6 p.m. MST) |
| FOLLOW |
ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| LOCATION |
Flagstaff, Ariz. | Rolle Activity Center |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Winners of four-straight, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team returns home to host UNLV at the Rolle Activity Center on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time on ESPN+ with tickets still available for NAU's Native American Heritage night.
A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: After a pair of wins over Portland and Youngstown State, Northern Arizona is 4-2 on the year and second in the Big Sky Conference standings after starting the year 0-2. The first three contests for NAU were lopsided and decided by over 20 points, but since then the Lumberjacks have won each of their last three games by less than five points.
Following her career-high 26 points against YSU on Saturday, sophomore
Sophie Glancey leads the Lumberjacks with 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. Glancey has been incredibly consistent from the field, making 50.9 percent of her shot attempts (29-57). Going into Wednesday's game, she has scored in double figures in three-straight games.
Emily Rodabaugh is the other Lumberjack to average double figures, adding 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The fifth-year senior is currently chasing a few NAU all-time records and is seven three-pointers away from setting the career record. Additionally, she needs 26 points to crack the top-ten all-time scoring list.
Leia Beattie is averaging 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while leading the team in assists (2.5/game) and steals (2.3/game).
Grace Beasley also adds 2.2 steals and 2.5 assists per contest.
Northern Arizona has the third-best offense in the Big Sky, averaging 69.5 points per game while holding opponents to 68.2. The Lumberjacks are second in the Big Sky in both blocks (4.0), assists (15.17) and steals (10.33) per game. The squad also ranks fifth in field goal percentage (.413), fifth with 6.8 triples per game, and fifth with 38.7 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY WITH UNLV: Wednesday marks the fourth-straight season that the Lumberjacks and Rebels will have faced off. Although Northern Arizona is 4-15 in the all-time series, it has won two out of the last three matchups including one at home the last time UNLV came to town.
NAU won 79-75 on Nov. 25, 2020, in Las Vegas and then again at the Rolle Activity Center on Nov. 17, 2021, by a score of 84-62. The Lumberjacks made the return trip to UNLV last season and suffered a 93-73 loss.
In the loss, Rodabaugh poured on 26 points and came shy of her career-high 27 points set against the Rebels the year before. She is 14-for-22 from three-point range against UNLV in her career.
A LOOK AT THE REBELS: UNLV, who is a member of the Mountain West Conference, is a perfect 6-0 on the season heading into Wednesday's game, outscoring its opponents by 31.2 points per game.
The Rebels take care of the ball extremely well, turning the ball over just nine times per game which is the third best in the country, and owning an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.02 which is also third. One of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country as well, UNLV ranks fourth in three-pointers per game (10.7), 11
th in attempts (27.8), 21
st in percentage (38.3) while locking down opponents outside of the arc in three-point defense at just 22.9 percent which ranks 24
th.
UNLV averages 85.2 points per game which is 15
th nationally and are solid at the free throw line, knocking down 80.2 percent of its attempts to rank 16
th in Division I. Showing depth, UNLV's bench adds 31.5 points per game which is 22
nd.
The Rebels also boast the third-best three-point shooter in the nation in Alyssa Durazo-Frescas who averages 4.33 made triples per game. Desi-Rae Young, who had 30 points and a double-double by halftime the last time the two teams met, is knocking down 53.8 percent of her shots, and averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT: Northern Arizona took on Portland and Youngstown State at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, coming away with two hard-fought victories.
Against Portland, the Lumberjacks trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half before mounting their comeback. Northern Arizona trailed 19-8 at the end of the first and by 12 points at the half. With just over two minutes to play, a Beattie triple gave NAU a 62-61 lead – its first since the first quarter. A layup by
Sophie Glancey put Northern Arizona back ahead by a point after UP retook the lead with a minute to play. With 55 seconds on the clock, Portland took a 65-64 lead after a perfect trip to the free throw line. After a couple of missed opportunities by both teams, Northern Arizona called timeout with a second left on the clock. Out of the break, Beattie found
Olivia Moran for the game-winner and the Lumberjacks completed to 66-65 come-from-behind victory over Portland. In the win, NAU out-rebounded Portland 40-to-26.
In the finale against Youngstown State, NAU led from start to finish but not before the Penguins came within three points in the game's final minutes. After YSU cut the lead down to five points, a quick 4-0 run by the Lumberjacks made it a 71-63 game as NAU fought to put the Penguins out of reach. With 33 seconds left, YSU hit a three-pointer to make it a 73-70 game as NAU called timeout to try and stop a 6-0 Penguin run.
Olivia Moran would make 1-of-2 free throw attempts with 10 seconds left, and YSU never got a shot attempt off as the Lumberjacks held on to the 74-70 victory.
UP NEXT: December's schedule begins with a 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time matinee against Pacific for Youth Day on Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Rolle. Northern Arizona then hits the road again for three-straight to face San Francisco (Dec. 9), Pepperdine (Dec. 18), and Southern Utah (Dec. 21) before a break for the holidays.
