CEDAR CITY, Utah (Dec. 21, 2023) – For the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team will leave Cedar City, Utah, with a victory after defeating Southern Utah 81-70 this afternoon at the America First Event Center.
Northern Arizona improves to 8-3 on the season, its best 11-game start in program history. The Lumberjacks have now won four-straight overall, six-straight away from Flagstaff, and eight out of their last nine games.
NAU has now won two-straight over its former Big Sky Conference foes, as the Thunderbirds drop to 3-7 on the year (1-1 WAC). Today marked Northern Arizona's fourth-straight game with 80 or more points, improving to 42-3 since 2018-19 when eclipsing the 80-point mark.
Although the Lumberjacks secured their fifth double-digit victory of the season, the contested was closely contested with nine lead changes and nine ties and NAU did not pull away until the game's final moments, outscoring the Thunderbirds 21-14 in the fourth quarter after leading by just three at the half.
"Incredibly proud of the team today. We faced a significant amount of adversity, but again the team showed tremendous resilience," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We are definitely looking forward to the break to recover and refresh for conference play."
Emily Rodabaugh paced the Lumberjacks with a season-high 19 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Rodabaugh drained four triples, and now has 202 in her career, the first Lumberjack to record over 200 three-pointers in program history.
Grace Beasley added 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists while
Olivia Moran was crucial in the fourth quarter behind the arc and added 12.
Sophie Glancey finished with nine points, eight rebounds, and a career-best three blocks.
Both squads shot over 45 percent from the field, with the Thunderbirds out-shooting NAU 47.5 percent to 45.3 percent. However, the game was decided at the free throw line as Southern Utah made just six of its 18 free throw attempts while the Lumberjacks were 16-for-19. Additionally, Northern Arizona forced 16 turnovers and turned them into 27 points while only committing 10.
Southern Utah found the first four points, but once the Lumberjacks settled in, they quickly used an 11-2 run to pull ahead 11-6. It was a fast paced, back-and-forth quarter to start as the teams found themselves locked at 13-13 and again at 15-15 by the first media timeout. It was SUU who pulled away first, using a 6-0 run to pull back ahead 21-15.
Emily Rodabaugh would drain her second three-pointer of the game to snap the run, as NAU trailed 21-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lumberjacks recorded four blocks during the opening frame and Rodabaugh added eight points, but NAU was held to 34.8 percent from the field compared to 47.6 percent for the Thunderbirds.
There we six ties and five lead changes in the second quarter alone. With under four minutes to play in the half, the squads found themselves locked once again at 35-35 before a quick 5-0 run from NAU put the 'Jacks ahead. Rodabaugh hit her third three-pointer of the game in transition to put NAU ahead 43-39 and the Lumberjacks led 43-40 at the break. Northern Arizona outscored the Thunderbirds 25-19 in the second quarter as both teams shot over 53 percent from the field in the second frame.
The Lumberjacks fell behind 50-48 in the third quarter before they pull away with an 8-0 run to take a 56-50 lead. The run included three points from
Saniyah Neverson and five from Rodabaugh. With 20 seconds left, the Thunderbirds made it a two-point game, but a floater by
Leia Beattie at the buzzer put NAU up 60-56 with one quarter to play.
With the game tied 60-60 with eight minutes to play, Beasley went on a 5-0 run of her own.
Olivia Moran hit a triple in transition and put NAU up 70-63 for the largest lead of the game. After a scoreless spell for the Thunderbirds, Northern Arizona grew the lead out to 10 points after another 5-0 run and didn't look back. NAU ended the contest a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to secure the 81-70 win.
Northern Arizona returns to Flagstaff for the first time since Dec. 6 when it takes on Northern Colorado for its Big Sky Conference opener. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time at Findlay Toyota Court inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome on Saturday, Dec. 30.
The Lumberjacks swept the Bears last season, including an overtime victory on the road and a win in the Big Sky Conference quarterfinals. Northern Colorado is currently 4-5 overall.
