BOISE, Idaho (March 5, 2023) – For the second-straight season, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team is advancing to the Big Sky Championship semifinals after a 64-48 victory over No. 9 seeded Northern Colorado today in the quarterfinals in Boise, Idaho, at the Idaho Central Arena.
The Lumberjacks will face either No. 4 Eastern Washington or No. 5 Montana in the semifinals on Tuesday, March 7 at 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The Eagles and the Griz will face off tomorrow (March 6) at noon.
Three players scored in double figures today, led by
Regan Schenck (seven assists) and
Nyah Moran who each scored 15 points.
Olivia Moran added 11 points on 5-of-10 from the field and added four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Fatoumata Jaiteh scored seven points and had three blocks.
The 'Jacks made eight three-pointers and shot 34.8 percent from the field. Defensively, they forced 19 turnovers, and only committed nine, while holding the Bears to 30.2 percent from the field.
"I'm super proud of our team. I felt like we were a little bit worried that we were going to have to weather the storm for the first couple minutes of the game having not played yet, but they came out very confident and on fire and it was very good to see their energy from the get-go," said head coach
Loree Payne. "I'm super proud of them and the way they executed our game plan both offensively and defensively and it brought us into the semifinals for the second-straight year."
The Lumberjacks wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as
Regan Schenck found Fatou Jaiteh for a quick layup. From there, Schenck hit a three that was followed by an
Olivia Moran layup for a 7-0 run, forcing an early timeout for the Bears. Defensively, NAU forced three turnovers in the first three minutes and held UNC off of the board until the 6:26 mark. The Lumberjacks entered a scoring lull for nearly three and a half minutes, but they were able to hold the Bears off of the board for the final five minutes of the quarter. At the end of the first 10 minutes, the Lumberjacks led 16-4 and forced seven UNC turnovers during the frame, holding Northern Colorado to 14.3 percent from the field.
Northern Arizona picked up where it left off, as a
Nyah Moran three-pointer started a 5-0 run in the early goings of the second quarter. Northern Colorado started to find its footing, hitting consecutive triples to trim the lead to 21-10. The Lumberjacks would cool off, going 0-for-8 from the field while being held scoreless for the final 4:45 of the quarter. However, the Bears did not make a field goal for the final 4:07 and NAU held a 25-17 lead heading into the locker room despite being outscored 13-to-9 in the second quarter.
Just like the first quarter, NAU came out hot to start the second half, going on an 8-2 run that forced an early Bear timeout. The run included two triples from
Emily Rodabaugh and a turnaround jumper from
Olivia Moran. After the Lumberjacks entered another scoreless drought of nearly three minutes, the Bears cut the lead to 34-26. A
Nyah Moran triple would snap the drought, but before the quarter ended, UNC went on a 6-0 run to trim the lead back down to single digits. After being held scoreless for the final two and half minutes, the Lumberjacks led 42-34 heading into the fourth.
The Lumberjacks were able to pull away in the fourth quarter, but not before a triple by the Bears brought the lead back down to single digits, 45-37. A 5-0 run for NAU extended the lead back out to 13 points and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jaiteh grew the advantage to 15. NAU was able to outscore the Bears 22-14 en route to the victory, shooting 44.4 percent from the field during the frame and holding UNC without a field goal for the final four minutes of play.
