| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 16 |
Northern Arizona at Portland State (Thursday, Jan. 18 | 7 p.m. MST | Viking Pavilion | Portland, Ore.) |
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ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
| GAME 17 |
Northern Arizona at Sacramento State (Saturday, Jan. 20 | 12 p.m. MST | The Nest | Sacramento, Calif.) |
| FOLLOW |
ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Jan. 17, 2024) – Hitting the road for the first time in Big Sky Conference play, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team takes on Portland State and Sacramento State this week.
The Lumberjacks first look to snap a two-game losing streak to the Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Mountain Standard time before a Big Sky title game rematch takes place on Saturday, Jan. 20 at noon MST against the Hornets.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Following this slate of games, Northern Arizona returns to Findlay Toyota Court to host Idaho (Jan. 25) and Eastern Washington (Jan. 27).
A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is 10-6 on the season and 2-1 in Big Sky play after splitting a pair of games at home with a win over Montana State and a five-point loss to Montana.
In Saturday's win over the Bobcats,
Emily Rodabaugh made a career-high seven three-pointers which is tied for second in single-game history. Rodabaugh scored a season-high 23 points in the win and has now moved into seventh on NAU's all-time scoring list and cracked the top-ten in career minutes played, currently sitting in ninth.
Rodabaugh extended her school record in career three-pointers made to 217 and currently ranks eight in the conference in scoring (12.4) and third in three-point percentage (41.6%) and three-pointers made (42).
Sophie Glancey averages a team-high 12.4 points per game as well along with 6.4 rebounds per game. She is second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage, draining 51.6 percent of her shots from the field.
Leia Beattie averaged 17.0 points over the weekend, including a career-high 22-point performance against Montana. In conference-only games, Beattie has nine assists and no turnovers to rank first in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. She has also made a three-pointer in 15 straight games and currently averages 11.5 points per game.
Grace Beasley rounds out the double figure scoring with 10.3 points per game, adding a team-high 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals, plus 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Against Montana, the Lumberjacks made a perfect 21-for-21 from the charity stripe and made 20-for-23 against Montana State to rank 34
th nationally in free throw percentage and third in the Big Sky. NAU also boasts the 29
th-best scoring offense with 78.6 points per game to lead the Big Sky but ranks last in scoring defense in the conference. Averaging 16.3 assists per game to rank 54
th in the nation, the Lumberjacks own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.18 to rank second in the league. Northern Arizona has also scored 80 or more points in seven of the last nine games.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PORTLAND STATE: Portland State was the only team to sweep Northern Arizona in Big Sky play last season, winning 78-66 in Flagstaff and 60-55 in Portland. Northern Arizona has lost two-straight and trail the all-time series, 25-32. In Portland, the Lumberjacks are 9-19 overall with the most recent win coming in 2021-22.
A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Portland State is 5-11 overall and 0-4 in Big Sky play, entering Thursday's contest with an eight-game losing streak. The Vikings were picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls, while NAU was selected to finish first by the media and second by the coaches.
The Vikings rank ninth in the conference with 57.6 points per game and allow opponents to score 67.6 on a 47 percent clip. Esmeralda Morales leads the Big Sky Conference with 18.8 points per game at a 39.8 percent clip. Morales also leads the league in free throw percentage, making 89.4 percent of her attempts, while also draining a league-high 3.4 triples per game. Morales has also scored in double figures in all 16 games this season. Rhema Ogele is the team's top-rebounder with 6.1 per game to rank 10
th in the league.
SERIES HISTORY WITH SACRAMENTO STATE: Northern Arizona and Sacramento State split the regular season title with Montana State last year. The three teams also shared co-coach of the year honors. The Lumberjacks swept the Hornets during the regular season but couldn't come away with a third victory as they lost 76-63.
Northern Arizona leads the all-time series, 40-18. In Sacramento, the Lumberjacks are 18-10 and have won three-straight away from Flagstaff. Last season, NAU snuck away with an 84-82 win in overtime.
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS: The Hornets are also 0-4 in Big Sky play with an eight-game losing streak, sitting at 1-14 overall. Sacramento State was selected to finish sixth by the media and ninth by the coaches in the Big Sky preseason polls.
As a team, the Hornets are at the bottom of the conference in points per game (50.3) and opponents points per game (68.5), shooting at a 35.7 percent clip and losing by 18.2 points per game.
Summah Hanson is fifth in the Big Sky with 14.7 points per game and she ranks second in rebounding with 8.9. Benthe Versteeg leads the conference with 5.7 assists per game.
