FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Jan. 27, 2024) – An overtime thriller in Flagstaff went the way of the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team this afternoon, topping Eastern Washington by a final score of 89-81.
With the victory, the Lumberjacks snapped EWU's 10-game winning streak which included a perfect 6-0 in Big Sky Conference play. Northern Arizona has now won three-straight over Eastern Washington, including in last year's conference semifinal, and it was the second time in the last four regular season games that the Lumberjacks and Eagles have gone to overtime.
Northern Arizona has now won four-straight and improve to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky play to now sit in first in the league standings. Eastern Washington drops to 16-4 and 6-1 in conference action as well.
The Lumberjacks also improve to 8-2 on the year when scoring at least 80 points and have not trailed in four-straight games.
Northern Arizona led 19-18 after the first quarter, then held EWU to 1-of-12 from the field in the second quarter to take a 33-24 lead into the half. By the 8:33 mark of the fourth quarter, the Lumberjacks held a 15-point advantage. The Eagles would not quit, using a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter, tying the game 63-63 with 2:32 to play and then again 71-71 with 27 seconds left.
Sophie Glancey went to the charity stripe and made both for a two-point lead, but with .06 seconds left, EWU returned the favor at the line and the game went to overtime, 73-73.
In the overtime period, NAU shot 62.5 percent from the field and Glancey scored six points to outscore the Eagles 16-8 for the victory.
Glancey scored 23 points and added nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks for her third-straight 20-point performance.
Saniyah Neverson was the team leader in rebounds, grabbing 12 boards to go with seven points. Five other Lumberjacks scored in double figures, with
Leia Beattie and
Taylor Feldman each scoring 12 points each.
Emily Rodabaugh added 14 points and three steals.
Olivia Moran scored in double figures for the sixth-straight game with 11, and
Nyah Moran added 10 points and a team-high six assists.
Northern Arizona won the rebounding battle, 47-to-42, and shot 41.3 percent from the field with 10 three-pointers. Twenty-five of NAU's 31 made field goals were assisted, and the Lumberjacks were 17-for-18 from the free throw line. Eastern Washington shot 36.1 percent from the field (26-72), 34.8 percent from three-point range (8-23) and made 21-of-27 at the free throw line.
"That was a tough game against a really good team. I felt like it was just adversity after adversity after adversity that we were getting thrown, but we executed through it. Our execution during the overtime period was nearly perfect offensively and defensively. Obviously, we had some mishaps in the fourth quarter getting a 15-point lead taken away, but that's how great teams come back," said head coach
Loree Payne. "There's a reason why Eastern Washington had won 10-straight, they execute, they finish, they're a veteran team. So, for us to be able to hold our composure, we could've hung our heads during the overtime, but we didn't, we stepped up and really did a great job executing on both ends."
Glancey scored six-straight points to start the game, holding Eastern Washington off the board until the 5:52 mark. The Eagles cut the lead in half, 6-3, but a Beattie triple sparked a 7-0 run that helped the Lumberjacks build a 13-3 lead. Out of the media timeout, four quick points from Eastern Washington put it back within striking distance, but Neverson's three-pointer put the Lumberjacks back ahead 16-10. At the end of the first, Northern Arizona held a 19-18 lead. Each team shot 43 percent from the field during the first, making three three-pointers apiece.
The Lumberjacks dominated the second quarter, allowing the Eagles to only make one field goal and score six total points while they poured on 18. Three different players scored in a 7-0 run to open the quarter, keeping EWU off the board until the 4:27 mark. Eastern Washington made its lone field goal with 1:49 remaining in the half, allowing the Lumberjacks to pull ahead 33-24 by that point. From there, Northern Arizona kept EWU off the board and scored four more points to take a 37-24 lead into the half. Eastern Washington was 1-of-12 from the field in the second compared to 8-of-18 (44.4%) for the Lumberjacks.
At the half, NAU was out-rebounding the Eagles 24-to-13 with eight offensive rebounds and shooting 44.1 percent (15-34) from the field with five three-pointers.
The third quarter was much more contested, with EWU outscoring the Lumberjacks 22-20 after shooting 47.1 percent. It was Eastern Washington who came out and scored the first four points to start the half, trimming the lead down to single digits briefly before Beattie's fourth three-pointer extended the advantage back out to 40-28. EWU would once again trim the deficit to single digits, but a Rodabaugh triple put the lead back out to 10.
With 1:28 left in the third, Eastern Washington got within six points. The Lumberjacks closed the quarter on a 5-0 run, ending with a Glancey three-pointer at the buzzer. Heading into the fourth, NAU led 57-46.
The Lumberjacks were held scoreless for over two minutes in the fourth, allowing EWU to cut the lead to 10 points with six minutes remaining. Eastern Washington used an 8-0 run to trim the lead down to 63-59 with 3:46 left in the contest.
A 9-0 run continued into the fourth quarter where NAU held its largest 15-point lead with 8:33 to go. Eastern Washington would not quit, firing off 12-straight points to tie the game 63-63 with 2:32 left to play after the Lumberjacks didn't score for over three minutes. With 41.5 seconds remaining,
Olivia Moran made it a 71-68 game with two makes at the free throw line. However, with 27 seconds to go, EWU's Aaliyah Alexander who scored 31 in the game, tied the contest 71-71 with a three-pointer.
Glancey, who made 6-of-6 from the free throw line today, made two free throws to give NAU a 73-71 lead. With 0.6 left, EWU's Jaleesa Lawrence tied the game at the free throw line after drawing a foul and the game would go to overtime.
Northern Arizona switched gears in the overtime period. Glancey started things off with a 4-0 run and would make 3-of-4 during the frame with three rebounds and two blocks.
Nyah Moran and
Olivia Moran each drained three-pointers, as NAU was a perfect 2-for-2 from a distance during overtime. The 'Jacks were also 4-for-4 from the free throw line and 5-of-8 from the field, holding the Eagles to 20 percent from the field and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. After outscoring Eastern Washington 16-8 in overtime, NAU came away with the 89-81 victory.
The Lumberjacks now hit the road for four-straight games, taking on Weber State (Feb. 1) and Idaho State (Feb. 3) next week.
