FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Jan. 25, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University women's basketball team won its third-straight contest tonight, topping Idaho 65-53 at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff.
NAU is now 13-6 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky Conference action, while the Vandals fall to 9-9 and 2-4.
Sophie Glancey led all players with 23 points and nine rebounds, making 10-of-12 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Both
Leia Beattie and
Olivia Moran rounded out the double digit scoring with 11 points each, dishing five and four assists, respectively. Both Beattie and
Saniyah Neverson each had seven rebounds.
Northern Arizona dominated the boards, winning the rebounding battle 40-23, and keeping the Vandals without any second chance points. NAU shot over 50 percent from the field in three quarters, ending with 48.1 percent (26-54) and holding the Vandals to 38.5 percent (20-52). The Lumberjacks did not shoot particularly well from three-point range (2-9), but outscored the Vandals in the pain, 46-28. Northern Arizona turned the ball over 17 times compared to 14 for UI.
"I'm super proud of the team. Obviously, a big win for us to gain momentum. We're still trying to find our rhythm a little bit without having
Grace Beasley," said head coach
Loree Payne, referring to her injured starting point guard. "Our pace is a little bit different because Grace is so dynamic in our transition game. We're trying to figure out how to continue our scoring without having her on the court, so we're asking a lot of people to step up, and obviously
Sophie Glancey was super-efficient tonight making 10-of-12. We have to get her the ball a little more on the block. I'm just proud of the team, especially with rebounding. We've been focusing on that the past few weeks and I feel like we finally put a game together where we really rebounded the ball, that's what set us apart. And we need to clean up the turnovers, 17 is too many to have. It's possessions, and that will help our scoring as well."
The Lumberjacks started fast on a 9-0 run thanks to five points from Beattie and four from Glancey. After not scoring until the 6:35 mark, the Vandals used a 4-0 run in response. Northern Arizona forced five turnovers in the first five minutes but did not score for over three until
Taylor Feldman broke the scoring drought with a layup. With under a minute to go, Idaho made a three-pointer from the corner to make it a three-point game, 13-10. At the end of the first, after shooting 50 percent from the field (6-12) and holding Idaho to 31 percent (4-13), the Lumberjacks led 15-10.
Beattie reached double digits with her first shot attempt in the second quarter, starting a 10-0 run for the Lumberjacks. Five different players contributed during the run, and the NAU defense kept the Vandals off the board until the 4:57 mark, allowing the Lumberjacks to build a 25-13 lead by that point. At the half, Northern Arizona led 35-21 after outscoring the Vandals 20-11 in the second quarter. Idaho shot just 23.1 percent (3-13) and made 4-of-8 from the free throw line, while the Lumberjacks shot 61.5 percent (8-13).
At the half, the Lumberjacks had a 23-9 edge in rebounds and were shooting 56 percent (14-25) from the field but turned the ball over 10 times compared to eight for the Vandals.
Idaho came out and opened the second half on an 8-2 run, trimming the lead down to 37-29. The Vandals then made three-straight field goals to get the lead down to single digits, 42-35.
Emily Rodabaugh, who was held scoreless in the first half, then scored four-straight points to put the lead back out to 46-35. Rodabaugh would wind up scoring seven points in the frame to go with six from
Olivia Moran to help NAU take a 53-39 lead into the fourth quarter. The defense held the Vandals without a field goal for the final 3:44 of the quarter, as both teams scored 18 points apiece with the Lumberjacks shooting 50 percent from the field once again.
With 6:22 left to play, a Vandal three-pointer made it a single-digit game, 56-47.
Olivia Moran was then fouled making a driving layup and made the three-pointer, extending the lead back out to 59-47. Despite being outscored 14-12 in the fourth quarter and held scoreless for the final 2:39 with its lowest shooting percentage of the game, the Lumberjacks were able to come away with a 65-53 victory.
The Lumberjacks welcome the top team in the Big Sky Conference in Eastern Washington to Flagstaff on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The Eagles were picked first and second in the preseason poll along with the Lumberjacks. Eastern Washington is undefeated, 6-0, in conference play and boasts the league's top-defense while NAU has the league's top-offense.
