FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 23, 2023) – Northern Arizona Women's Basketball enters the final week of the 2022-23 Big Sky season, still in contention to win the regular season championship.
Currently second in the conference, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (17-12, 11-5) sit a game and a half behind defending conference tournament champion Montana State Bobcats (19-8, 12-3). Two of the Bobcats' three conference losses came against the Lumberjacks, including their largest deficit of 29 points in Flagstaff on Feb. 2.
The Lumberjacks will need some outside help to claim the title, but have a good chance to enter the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho on a four-game winning streak as they end the regular season against the two bottom teams in the standings. Northern Arizona hosts the Northern Colorado Bears (11-16, 4-12 Big Sky) before ending the season in Ogden, Utah against the bottom-seeded Weber State Wildcats (6-21, 2-13 Big Sky).
Northern Arizona's 17 wins this season match its total last season with at least three games left this season when accounting for postseason play. One more victory would give NAU the most wins in a season since the 2006-07 season when the Lumberjacks went 20-12 under then-head coach Laurie Kelly.
Outgoing players, senior guard Regan Schenck, junior Sanjana Ramesh and graduate forward Montana Oltrogge will be honored on Northern Arizona's Senior Day before the Northern Colorado game.
Schenck leads the Big Sky in total assists (201) and assists per game (6.9). Her 201 assists are the most by a Lumberjack ever in one season and are 76 more than the next player in the conference, Sacramento State senior Kahlaijah Dean. Schenck is second in the conference and 13th in the nation in free-throw shooting at 89.6% and is also 14th in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game.
She is eight minutes away from reaching 1,000 minutes played this season.
Ramesh has appeared in four games this season and scored a career-high 10 points against Park University Gilbert. She is the Indian-born player to have received a Division I basketball scholarship.
Oltrogge has also been a major factor for the Lumberjacks in her fifth season in the Big Sky. Despite being out since suffering a leg injury against her former team Idaho State on Feb. 6, Oltrogge remains Northern Arizona's leading scorer with 13.4 points per game, good for 11th in the Big Sky. She is also one of the strongest rebounders in the league as she sits fourth with 8.2 per game.
Northern Arizona defeated both Northern Colorado and Weber State in the first half of the season and looks to extend its recent success against each team going. The Lumberjacks come in with a three-game winning streak against the Bears, including a tournament victory in the Big Sky semifinals last year. Northern Colorado's last win against Northern Arizona was their last matchup in Flagstaff on Jan. 31, 2022.
Boasting a 4-2 record when going to overtime this season, the Lumberjacks won their last game against the Bears, 62-59, by holding the Bears to just two points in the extra five minutes. Oltrogge led the way for Northern Arizona with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds to round out her double-double. Schenck also flirted with a triple-double, dropping 14 points with seven boards and eight assists. Sophomore forward Fatoumata Jaiteh also contributed to the win with 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Lumberjacks' success against Weber State has gone unmatched. Northern Arizona holds a 10-game winning streak against the Wildcats going back to 2019. Weber State's last win over Northern Arizona came on Feb. 3, 2018 in Ogden.
Oltrogge and Schenck yet again were the leading forces for Northern Arizona in their early-season game against Weber State, dropping 19 and 15 points respectively. The Lumberjacks got it done at the free-throw line in that win, going 85.7% from the charity stripe on a season-high 35 attempts. Oltrogge and Schenck shot a combined 18-for-19 at the line.
Northern Colorado
The Bears are on a four-game losing streak and are coming off a pair of close losses last week, including a three-point loss to Idaho on Feb. 16 and a four-point loss to Eastern Washington on Feb. 18.
Northern Colorado had three players score in double-figures against Northern Arizona in January, led by junior guard Hannah Simental's 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. The Lumberjacks held the Bears to 16.7% from distance, the lowest by an opponent in conference play and the lowest since Northern Arizona held California Baptist to the same percentage in the fourth game of the season on Nov. 16, 2022.
The Bears are second in the conference in free-throw shooting at 78.3%, good for 15th in the nation and less than half a percent behind Montana State's 78.7% from the line, which is ninth in the country. Simental leads the charge at the strip for Northern Colorado. She leads the conference as the only player shooting above 90% on free throws (90.7%) and is seventh in the nation. The All-Big Sky preseason team member is fifth in 3-point shooting this season (38.7%) after leading the conference in that category last season (42.5%).
Standing toe-to-toe with Simental is junior forward Delaynie Byrne. Each averages 13.9 points per game with Byrne scoring a single point more than Simental all season. Byrne is sixth in the Big Sky in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game.
Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado are the only two teams in the conference with two games left on their schedules. All other teams have games scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23, giving the Bears and Lumberjacks a full week of rest before their matchup.
Weber State
The Wildcats snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a seven-point victory over Portland State at Dee Events Center in Ogden. Senior forward Jadyn Matthews led the way with a season-high 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, tying the career-high she set against the Lumberjacks to open the conference season last year. Matthews played all 40 minutes and earned a double-double with 11 rebounds, all of which were on the defensive end.
Matthews is fifth in the Big Sky in rebounds per game at 7.6 and has scored season-highs in points against Northern Arizona in the last two seasons.
Weber State holds the worst average scoring deficit in the conference, losing Big Sky games by an average of 11.9 points. The Wildcats average 55.9 points per conference game, which also ranks at the bottom.
Leading the way in scoring for Weber State is senior forward Daryn Hickok. Another All-Big Sky preseason team member, Hickok is third in the conference in scoring at 16.4 points per game. Hickok also leads the team in field goal percentage, knocking down 42.8% of her shots to rank fifth in the conference.
Northern Arizona's Senior Day game against Northern Colorado will be on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. MST at Findlay Toyota Court inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome and can be watched on ESPN+ with live stats here. The regular season finale against Weber State is on Monday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. MST at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah and can be watched on ESPN+.
Saturday's home finale will provide a raffle where fans in attendance have a chance to win a PlayStation®5 Console, a 50-inch flat-screen TV and an electric scooter.
Follow the NAU women's basketball team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the season.
