ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Nov. 30, 2024) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team won the St. Pete's Showcase with an 87-70 victory over Tulane today in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Lumberjacks win their sixth-straight and improve to 7-1 on the season, its best start since the 1994-95 season, while the Green Wave drop to 3-4. It was the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Five Lumberjacks scored in double figures, led by
Sophie Glancey with another double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Leia Beattie followed with 16 points on 4-of-8 from three-point range to go with four assists and four rebounds.
Taylor Feldman (15 points),
Olivia Moran (13 points) and
Nyah Moran (12 points) rounded things out with a balanced scoring attack while
Saniyah Neverson added nine rebounds. Glancey was named tournament MVP while Beattie also made the All-Tournament team.
"I'm so proud of the team and toughness that they displayed this weekend," said head coach
Loree Payne, who needs just one more win to tie NAU's all-time winningest coach. "Another great win for the program and great momentum-heading into the Big Sky/Summit Challenge."
Northern Arizona came out in the first quarter and shot 50 percent (11-22) from the field behind seven early points from
Olivia Moran. The Lumberjacks used a 7-0 run to lead 26-19 after the first, holding the Green Wave to 34.8 percent from the field.
Tulane opened up the quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 29-23 lead. The teams would lock in at 30-30 before a three-pointer from
Leia Beattie put NAU back ahead by three points. NAU did not look back, closing the quarter on a 6-0 run with four points coming from
Allie Cummins to lead 39-32 at the half. Northern Arizona ended the frame making four of their final field goal attempts and kept the Green Wave off the board for the final 2:30 of the half.
The third quarter was tightly contested with each side scoring 23 points, allowing NAU to take a 62-55 lead into the fourth. The Lumberjacks shot 50 percent from the field during the third quarter, forcing four turnovers and hold the Green Wave to 42.9 percent.
The Lumberjacks ran away with it in the fourth quarter, as Feldman exploded for 14 of her 15 points during the final frame, making 6-of-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range. As a team, Northern Arizona shot 76.9 percent (10-13) from the field in the fourth quarter to outscore Tulane 25-15.
Northern Arizona shot 50.7 percent from the field (37-73) for its best performance of the year so far, going 6-for-24 behind the arc and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. NAU had the slight 45-44 edge on the rebounds. Tulane shot 34.6 percent from the field, 7-of-25 from three-point range, and 9-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Northern Arizona now returns home to host Oral Roberts on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. MST in Rolle Activity Center for the start of the second annual Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
