NAU Women's Basketball continued to find impressive ways to win this week, culminating in a high-speed victory over the Idaho Vandals, 87-78. The Lumberjacks scored their most points in a game since losing in overtime to Eastern Washington in Cheney, 96-89, on Jan. 21. The 87 points against the Vandals was the most in a win scoring 90 against Idaho in Moscow on Jan. 19.
"I think this was one of our best overall team wins that we've had," NAU head coach
Loree Payne said. "It's exciting to be playing at a pretty good level right now, especially with two regular season games left heading into Boise."
The Lumberjacks started strong and hardly looked back, leading for all but 2:16 of the 40 minutes played. Sophomore
Nyah Moran took control early, nailing two 3-pointers in the first five minutes of play.
Moran scored eight of her 17 points in the first quarter to lead NAU's best 10-minute stretch. The 17 points from Moran are her second most in a game this season, only behind her 25-point performance in NAU's double overtime win over California Baptist back in November.
NAU went on a 10-0 run to grow its lead to 20-8 before Idaho called an early timeout. The Lumberjacks continued firing away, shooting 62.5% in the quarter and hitting four of their first five 3-pointers to lead 24-13 after 10 minutes.
The Lumberjacks cooled off from the floor soon after, shooting 30% from both the floor and beyond the arc in the second quarter. Idaho redshirt freshman Brooke Malone brought her team to within one point to end the first half by scoring nine of her 14 points in the second frame.
NAU went on an over 3-minute-long scoring drought on the heels of a 6-0 Idaho run. Sophomore
Olivia Moran ended the drought with a three of her own to begin what turned into a season-defining performance for her.
Olivia Moran picked up where her twin sister Nyah left off. She scored a season-high 20 points with 15 of them coming in the second half. She did so on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from deep.
"I thought the team was great, finding the hot hand today,"
Olivia Moran said. "Emily [Rodabaugh], Nyah and I, I thought we were transitioning really well."
Her 20 points were one shy of her career high she set against Southern Utah almost two years ago to the day on Feb. 25, 2021.
Both teams came in among the fastest in the conference in pace of play, which showed with NAU's high-volume shooting. The Lumberjacks outshot the Vandals 36-24 in the first half and grew that deficit to 19 by the final buzzer.
This is NAU's second straight win despite shooting a lower percentage than its opponent. Idaho shot 49.1% from the floor while the Lumberjacks shot 44.4% on 72 attempts.
"They shot the ball really, really well," Payne said. "That was one of the things we talked about coming in. If they can get hot from three, they can beat anyone."
NAU's four scorers in double-digits allowed senior guard
Regan Schenck to contribute in other ways. The Big Sky leader in assists per game upped her average with nine against Idaho. Schenck was one assist away from a double-double as she earned 11 rebounds but struggled shooting, hitting one 3-pointer at the start of the second half and going 2-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Idaho took the lead for the first time off the hot hand of graduate Tiana Johnson, who scored 12 of her 15 points in the third quarter on a perfect 4-for-4 clip from three.
Malone hit a three to give Idaho a 53-52 lead midway through the third. The margin remained the same heading into the final quarter.
"I felt like our defense really locked in and we kind of weathered the storm in that third quarter and, fortunately, we were hitting shots too," Payne said.
NAU once again limited senior Beyonce Bea on offense. The Big Sky's leading scorer was held to eight points in the first three quarters, less than half of what she had been averaging in games coming into the game. She led the Vandal charge to get back in the game with 11 fourth-quarter points to reach 19, her most against NAU in her career of nine games played against the Lumberjacks.
"She's a great player," Payne said of Bea. "She's someone that is different than most players in the Big Sky because she can step out and shoot the three, she can post up, she's very multidimensional. I thought we did a good job on her tonight."
NAU forced 13 turnovers and came away with nine steals compared to just one takeaway from Idaho.
The Lumberjacks have now won four consecutive games over the Vandals going back to 2021. NAU (17-12, 11-5 Big Sky) prevented Montana State from clinching a share of the regular season title before the final week by winning both games this week.
The Lumberjacks will have a week off before their final home game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. MST. The 'Jacks will conclude the 2022-23 regular season on the road against the Weber State Wildcats on Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. MST.
To stay up to date with NAU Women's Basketball, follow the 'Jacks on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.
