FARGO, N.D. (Jan. 6, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University women's basketball team could not overcome a hot-shooting North Dakota State team in Fargo this afternoon, falling 99-73 in the second and final game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
With the loss, NAU drops to 9-5 (1-0 Big Sky) and the Bison improve to 7-7 on the year (1-0 Summit).
Despite the result, all five starters scored in double figures for the second-straight game.
Leia Beattie led the squad with 12 points, followed by
Emily Rodabaugh and
Grace Beasley who had 11 each.
Nyah Moran and
Sophie Glancey rounded things out with 10 apiece. Rodabaugh dished four assists and
Taylor Feldman had a team-high four rebounds.
North Dakota State shot 55.9 percent (33-59) from the field, 54.5 percent (12-22) from three-point range and were also 21-25 (84%) from the free throw line. The Lumberjacks were 28-for-61 from the field (45.9%), made 4-of-12 three-pointers and were 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the charity stripe. After committing 10 or less turnovers in the last three games, NAU turned the ball over 15 times that turned into 23 points for NDSU, and were outrebounded 36-24.
"NDSU played a heck of a game. They shot the ball incredibly well and we were unable to match their effeciency. We have to be tougher on the glass and close the rebounding gap moving forward," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We are excited to get back into practice and prepare for two very good conference teams coming to Flagstaff this week."
The Lumberjacks overcame a slow start in the early moments of the first quarter. North Dakota State used a 7-0 run to lead 13-6 and the advantage extended out to 19-11 with two minutes left. Down by eight, four Lumberjacks scored in an 8-0 run to tie the game 19-19. After ending the quarter on a 10-2 run, NAU and NDSU were locked 21-21 at the end of the first thanks to a
Grace Beasley jumper at the buzzer.
North Dakota State broke the tie first following a 5-0 run to go up 26-21. Northern Arizona continued to battle and moved the game back into a 28-28 tie, but the Bison seemed to have an answer for everything and pulled back ahead by five. Much like the first quarter, NAU started to find some momentum in the quarter's final moments.
Taylor Feldman made a second-chance jumper that was followed by a Rodabaugh triple to tie the game 35-35. In transition, Feldman made a layup to give Northern Arizona its first lead of the game, 37-35. With 27 seconds left, the Bison hit a three to take a 38-37 lead into the half.
The first half featured seven ties and two lead changes, and despite trailing by one at the half, NAU still shot over 52 percent from the field and held the Bison to 42 percent while winning the battle in the paint, 20-14. The Bison were 8-for-10 from the free throw line while the Lumberjacks were 3-for-4.
It was the Bison who found all the momentum in the third quarter, opening on a 16-2 run for their largest lead of 54-39.
Leia Beattie put a stop to the run with a three-pointer that was followed up a
Nyah Moran layup to cut back into the lead. However, NDSU did not let up and outscored NAU 38-20 in the quarter to lead 76-57 heading into the fourth. The Bison shot 80 percent (12-15) from the field with seven three-pointers during the third quarter alone, while the Lumberjacks were held to 38.9 percent.
NDSU didn't let up in the fourth, cruising on a 10-0 run to create more space with an 88-58 advantage. Despite not making a field goal for over four minutes, the Bison were still able to outscore NAU 23-16 in the fourth en route to the 99-73 victory.
Northern Arizona resumes Big Sky play next week with Montana State (Jan. 11) and Montana (Jan. 13) at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff.
