LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 7, 2024) – Taking on another Mountain West Conference opponent, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team continued its season at UNLV today where it fell 85-71 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
The loss drops the Lumberjacks to 1-1 on the year, while the Rebels win their second-straight over NAU to improve to 2-0. The Rebels are the three-time defending Mountain West champions and both squads were picked to finish first in their respective conferences.
Both squads were tied after the first quarter, but the Rebels created some space for a 44-32 lead at the half. Northern Arizona worked to cut the game down to single digits entering the fourth quarter but were outscored 21-16 in the final frame for the loss.
Both
Sophie Glancey and
Nyah Moran led the way with 18 points each. Glancey fouled out with 3:14 left to play, but not before earning her first double-double of the year with 10 rebounds. She was also 8-for-12 from the field with three assists, while Moran made 6-of-13 with three three-pointers.
Taylor Feldman was the other Lumberjack to score in double figures, scoring 13 points.
Leia Beattie added eight points, a team-high six assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal.
Turnovers and foul trouble inflicted the Lumberjacks, as they committed 18 turnovers and 19 personal fouls. UNLV turned the ball over just seven times and scored 21 points off of NAU's miscues. The Rebels dominated the boards, 55-to-40 and scored 27 second-chance points while outscoring NAU 60-to-36 in the paint.
"UNLV is a really good team and I'm proud of the fight we put up," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We definitely learned a lot and look forward to getting back into the lab this coming week."
The teams were tied 6-6 in the early goings, but it was UNLV that broke away first with a 5-0 run. Feldman, who had six first quarter points, made a layup that was followed by a three-pointer by Beattie to move the game back into an 11-11 tie.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first quarter, with the Rebels finding a stretch where they made just 1-of-10 from the field. Towards the end of the frame,
Olivia Moran found
Nyah Moran for a three-pointer for a brief 16-15 lead. At the end of the first, the two squads were knotted up 16-16.
UNLV found some space in the second quarter with a 10-0 run over 1:18 to quickly pull ahead 26-18. Another 6-0 run by the Rebels allowed them to grow their biggest lead of 32-22 by the media timeout. During the second quarter, NAU struggled with foul trouble and turned the ball over nine times while not making a field goal for four minutes. Meanwhile, the Rebels shot 48 percent from the field during the period and outscored the Lumberjacks 28-16.
Nyah Moran kept the Lumberjacks in the game with 10 second quarter points to give her 13 at the half. After the first 20 minutes, NAU entered the locker room down 44-32.
It was all UNLV for most of the third quarter, pulling ahead by as many as 17 points. Trailing by 17 with under three minutes left to play, the Lumberjacks started to find a groove. Beattie and
Nyah Moran team up for a 9-0 run to cut the lead back down to single digits, 63-55. The Lumberjacks would wind up outscoring the Rebels, 23-20, in the third quarter and trailed 64-55 heading into the fourth.
Falling behind by 17 points, NAU still showed no quit by finding another 6-0 run in the fourth. However, the Lumberjacks could not erase the deficit and were outscored 21-16 in the final quarter en route to the 85-71 loss.
The Lumberjacks shot 43.8 percent (28-64) from the field with 17 assists. They also drained seven three-pointers and shot 66.7 percent (8-12) from the free throw line. UNLV was 35-for-89 (39.3%) from the field, 5-for-21 from three-point range and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the free throw line.
Northern Arizona is set for its home opener on Monday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. Mountain Standard time against Fort Lewis at the Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff, Ariz.
