PORTLAND, Ore. (Jan. 18, 2024) – Playing in its first Big Sky Conference road contest, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team battled Portland State to a 73-65 victory tonight at the Viking Pavilion in Portland, Ore.
Leia Beattie led the way with a career-high 27 points, putting together consecutive 20-plus performances to help NAU improve to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky games. Portland State, who has now lost nine straight and was the only team to sweep the Lumberjacks last season, drops to 5-12 on the year and 0-5 in conference action.
NAU limited Esmeralda Morales, who leads the Big Sky with 18.0 points per game, to 11 points on 4-of-14 from the field. The Lumberjacks were able to out-rebound the Vikings 36-to-32 and after committing eight turnovers in the first period, Northern Arizona only turned the ball over five more times the remainder of the game.
"I'm really proud of the team and how they responded this week. Once we settled in and eliminated our early turnovers, we were able to get into a flow offensively and knock down open shots," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We also rebounded much better today than we have the last few games. The defensive effort from
Nyah Moran on the conference preseason MVP was impressive!"
Beattie was 9-for-13 from the field, 5-for-9 from three-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line to add eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Sophie Glancey added 16 points and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line with six rebounds and two blocks, while
Olivia Moran scored 15 points.
Emily Rodabaugh led the team with nine rebounds.
As a team, NAU shot 42.3 percent of the field and made seven three pointers while draining 22-of-27 from the charity stripe. The Lumberjack defense forced 13 turnovers and held PSU to 40.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.
Beattie was the hero in the first quarter, going 4-for-4 from three-point range to help NAU lead 21-14 after the first frame. The first period did get off to a bit of a slow start for the Lumberjacks, as PSU went off on an 8-0 run to lead 8-3. The Lumberjacks turned the ball over eight times by the first media timeout to give the Vikings eight points. Beattie's third triple of the game gave the Lumberjacks its first lead of the contest, and NAU shot 62.5 percent in the first frame while forcing seven turnovers of their own and holding the Vikings to 42.9 percent.
PSU trimmed the lead down to 21-18 with a 4-0 run to start the second quarter, holding the Lumberjacks without a field goal until the 5:18 mark. The Vikings would outscore NAU 15-13 in the second period, but six points from
Olivia Moran helped the 'Jacks stay ahead. With nine seconds left, PSU pulled within two points, but
Grace Beasley was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made all three at the line to help the Lumberjacks lead 34-29 at the half.
The Lumberjacks got off to a slow start in the third, once again being held without a field goal until 5:15 remained in the quarter. However, they were 7-for-10 from the free throw line and an
Emily Rodabaugh three-pointer kept NAU in the lead, 46-38. Northern Arizona outscored PSU 20-19 during the quarter to lead 54-48 heading into the fourth despite the Vikings scoring the final four points in the third quarter.
The Vikings cut the lead down to 54-51 for a 7-0 run to start the fourth. A quick four points by
Olivia Moran and Beattie put NAU back in control and forced the Vikings to take an early timeout. Remaining in control,
Olivia Moran hit a jumper from the elbow to put the Lumberjacks up by 10, 64-54. Portland State would close the game on a 6-0 run and kept NAU off the board for the final 2:58 of the contest, but the Lumberjacks were able to secure the first road win of Big Sky play, 73-65.
Northern Arizona continues its road trip at Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 20 with tipoff set for 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time on ESPN+.
