FRESNO, Calif. (Dec. 19, 2024) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow offensive night and fell at Fresno State by a final score of 66-55 tonight at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.
With the loss, NAU drops to 9-3 on the year while the Bulldogs improve to 9-4.
"That was a tough one tonight, we were just never able to find our offensive rhythm consistently," said head coach
Loree Payne. "It was one of our best defensive performances and we are excited to build off of that after the break."
Sophie Glancey scored a season-high 26 points and collected her eighth double-double of the year with 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks, making 10-of-16 from the field.
Taylor Feldman was the other 'Jack in double figures with 12 points, while
Nyah Moran added four points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals.
It was a slow start to the contest for both squads. Northern Arizona didn't find the scoreboard until the 7:26 mark, allowing the Bulldogs to build a 5-0 lead. Neither team scored for the final three minutes of the quarter and shot less than 25 percent during the frame. Despite having an 18-to-12 advantage on the boards, the Lumberjacks turned the ball over seven times during the first quarter while the Bulldogs did not commit any turnovers. At the end of the first, Fresno State led 13-8.
Northern Arizona did not make a field goal for over five minutes during the second quarter. During that time, the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead out to 12 points. The Lumberjacks started to heat up, making three of its last six field goal attempts to end the half, trailing 29-21.
It was the Glancey show in the third quarter, as she scored 14 of NAU's 19 third quarter points to help make it a 46-40 game heading into the fourth - after trailing by as many as 14 during the frame. Feldman had the other five points and was instrumental with a triple that capped a 6-0 run to trim the lead down to single digits. Trailing 46-38, Feldman stepped up again and made both attempts at the free throw line to make it a six-point game going into the fourth. The Lumberjacks outscored the Bulldogs 19-17 as NAU shot 63.6 percent during the frame.
Fresno State used a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter and held the Lumberjacks without field goal until the 6:40 mark. After the Bulldogs popped the lead out to 54-42, the Lumberjacks quickly used an 8-0 run to make it four-point game with 4:06 left. After Feldman made both free throws with 1:25 left to make it a four-point game at 59-55, the Bulldogs ended things with a 7-0 run and kept NAU without a field goal for the final 4:30 of the game.
Despite being held to a season low in points, the Lumberjacks also only allowed the second lowest amount of points this season. Fresno State led for the entirety of the game and forced 20 NAU turnovers. However, after only committing one turnover in the first half, the Bulldogs committed 13 in the second. The Lumberjacks had a 43-to-41 edge on the boards.
Both teams average over eight three-pointers a game, but Fresno State was 6-of-18 tonight while NAU made 5-of-22. On the night, Northern Arizona shot 32.1 percent (18-56) from the field and 14-of-19 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs were 25-for-68 (36.8%) from the field and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Northern Arizona now breaks for the holidays and will resume action on Sunday, Dec. 29 at Grand Canyon to close non-conference play. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
