| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 12 |
Northern Arizona vs. Northern Colorado (Saturday, Dec. 30 | 2 p.m. MST) |
| FOLLOW |
ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| LOCATION |
Findlay Toyota Court | Flagstaff, Ariz. |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Dec. 27, 2023) – Riding a four-game winning streak and returning to action since breaking for the holidays, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team opens Big Sky Conference play against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 30.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time from Findlay Toyota Court inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff for the first time this season. Tickets are available at nauathletics.com/buy and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: The Lumberjacks are off to their best 11-game start in program history, sitting at 8-3 overall. Northern Arizona enters Big Sky play tied for first in the league standings with Eastern Washington who is also 8-3. NAU was picked to finish first in the conference by the media and second by the coaches, while EWU was picked first by coaches and second by the media.
Northern Arizona is coming off an 81-70 win at Southern Utah on Dec. 21. The Lumberjacks have won four-straight overall, six-straight away from Flagstaff, and eight out of their last nine games. Playing just three non-conference games so far at home, NAU is 2-1 on the season in Flagstaff including a 96-65 win over Pacific on Dec. 6, the last time Northern Arizona played at home.
Northern Arizona leads the Big Sky with 75.9 points per game and have scored over 80 points in four-straight games and five times overall this season. Since 2018-19, NAU is 42-3 when scoring 80 points or more including a perfect 5-0 this season and 27-0 at home.
Sophomore
Sophie Glancey continues to lead NAU with 12.4 points per game. She has scored in double figures in seven out of the last eight games and has earned a double-double in two out of the last three. Glancey ranks 75
th nationally and third in the conference in field goal percentage, draining 51.9 percent (56-108) of her attempts from the field. Glancey ranks eighth in the conference in scoring and ninth in rebounding with a team-high 6.6 per game. She is also third in the Big Sky with 1.1 blocks per game to lead NAU.
Fifth-year senior
Emily Rodabaugh moved up to ninth all-time on NAU's all-time scoring list with 1,113 points after a 10-point performance at Pepperdine. She broke Northern Arizona's all-time three-pointers made record on Dec. 9 at San Francisco and now has 202 in her career, the first Lumberjack in program history to record over 200 career three-pointers. Rodabaugh is fifth in the Big Sky in three-point percentage (27-67, 40.3%) and averages 2.5 makes per game which is second.
The other Lumberjack to average double figures is
Leia Beattie with 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a team-high 1.8 steals per game. Beattie has made a three-pointer in nine out of the last 10 games and averages 1.6 triples per game.
Grace Beasley earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors after scoring 21 points in a victory at Pepperdine on Dec. 19. She has scored in double figures in three out of the last four games. In the last two games, Beasley is averaging 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. She is shooting 51.7 percent (15-29) from the field, 40 percent (2-5) from three-point range and is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
As a team, NAU averages 7.8 three-pointers per game and make 42.6 percent of their attempts from the field. The Lumberjacks also force 17.3 turnovers per game while averaging 39.1 rebounds, 16.1 assists and 3.9 blocks per contest.
SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHERN COLORADO: Northern Arizona trails the all-time series with the Bears, 14-24, but have won five-straight. Last season, the squads faced off three times with NAU winning all three including a 62-59 overtime victory in Greeley, a 66-48 win at home, and a 64-48 victory in the Big Sky quarterfinals.
From 2014-15 to 2018-19, NAU lost six-straight to the Bears but have now won nine out of the last 11. Although the Lumberjacks have won just six in Flagstaff against UNC, four of the victories have come out of the last five meetings at home.
A LOOK AT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado enters Saturday's game with a 4-5 overall record, winning two out of the last five. Most recently, the Bears fell 78-56 at Colorado. The Bears were picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky by the coaches and ninth in the media.
Delaynie Byrne leads the squad and ranks second in the Big Sky with 16.9 points per game and is shooting 52 percent (52-100) from the field this season. Byrne also adds 8.2 rebounds per game which ranks third. Byrne and Hannah Simental deliver a one-two punch from behind the free throw line, both draining 22 three-pointers this year to average 2.4 per game and shooting over 40 percent from three-point range. Simental is averaging 13.1 points per game.
As a team, Northern Colorado is shooting 42.7 percent from the field and lead the Big Sky in three-point percentage (37.2%), averaging 7.4 per game. The Bears rank second behind the Lumberjacks with 3.6 blocks per game and lead the conference in steals with 10.0 per contest.
LAST TIME OUT: 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.
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.
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.
UP NEXT: Northern Arizona concludes non-conference play to begin 2024 as the Big Sky/Summit Challenge kicks off to start the year. The Lumberjacks host South Dakota State on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. MST in Flagstaff before traveling to play at North Dakota State on Saturday, Jan. 6 at noon MST.
Big Sky play resumes with Montana State (Jan. 11) and Montana (Jan. 13), both at home.
