FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Dec. 2, 2024) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team is taking part in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge this week, splitting a pair of games at home and on the road.
NAU hosts Oral Roberts on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time for Field Trip Day at the Rolle Activity Center. It's then off to South Dakota for a WNIT rematch against the Coyotes. Tipoff in Vermillion, S.D., is set for 10 a.m. MST.
For the second season in a row, the two leagues will be playing for a combined trophy, taking both men's and women's results into consideration equally from 36 total games. Via tiebreaker, the Summit League claimed the trophy for the first edition of the challenge. Last season, Northern Arizona fell at home in double overtime to South Dakota State before dropping a contest at North Dakota State two days later.
Northern Arizona is on a six-game winning streak, sitting at 7-1 to tie the program's best start along with the 1994-95 team. With a win, the Lumberjacks are looking at their best start in program history at 8-1.
This past week, the Lumberjacks were in action at the St. Pete's Showcase where they were crowned team champions after going 2-0 with wins over James Madison and Tulane. After averaging a double-double and hitting the game-winner over the Dukes in overtime,
Sophie Glancey was tabbed tournament MVP while
Leia Beattie was named to the All-Tournament team as well.
Against JMU, the Dukes took the lead with a minute to play as there were four lead changes and a tie in the final four minutes of regulation. With 24 seconds to go, James Madison led 73-70 before
Taylor Feldman dished the ball to
Olivia Moran who nailed a three-pointer to send the game into overtime tied 73-73. In the overtime period, the teams exchanged runs with JMU opening the frame on a 7-0 run. Northern Arizona responded with an 8-0 run and with 51 seconds left, the game was tied 83-83. Feldman found Glancey with three seconds on the clock for the winner, 85-83. The Dukes had a chance at the free throw line at the end, but came up short, as the Lumberjacks came away with the win.
In the matchup against Tulane, five players scored in double figures as NAU put together its best shooting performance of the year in an 87-70 win. Northern Arizona took a 62-55 lead into the fourth and didn't look back, outscoring the Green Waves 25-15 while shooting 76.9 percent from the field behind 14 points from Feldman in the final period.
So far this season, NAU is 4-0 in games decided by five points or less and 6-0 when scoring at least 80 points. The Lumberjacks are 2-0 at home in Flagstaff. Several Lumberjacks are also inching towards career milestones, including head coach
Loree Payne who needs one more victory to tie Northern Arizona's all-time wins record and two more to break. Additionally, senior
Nyah Moran is just 10 points away from becoming the 22
nd member of NAU's 1,000 career point club.
This week, Northern Arizona checked in at No. 59 on the NCAA NET rankings and were ranked No. 14 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Poll.
As a team, they lead the Big Sky Conference in assist to turnover ratio (1.29), assists per game (18.3), defensive rebounds per game (31.9), total rebounds per game (44.63), scoring offense (83.5 ppg), three-point attempts per game (29.6) and three-pointers per game (8.9). NAU ranks in the top 30 in all those categories, including ranking 15
th nationally in rebounds per game and 23
rd in scoring offense.
Four Lumberjacks average double figures, led by Glancey with 17.9 points per game which also leads the Big Sky. The junior is the Big Sky Preseason MVP and has scored in double figures in 15-straight games dating back to last season. She currently ranks sixth in the country with five double-doubles, three of which have come consecutively, and is second in the Big Sky with 9.1 rebounds per game.
Nyah Moran has scored in double figures in every game but one this year and is averaging 15.9 points per game, followed by
Taylor Feldman who averages 14.0. Both have earned Big Sky Player of the Week nods this season and are two of three Lumberjacks to score over 20 points in a game this season.
Leia Beattie does a little bit of everything for Northern Arizona. The senior adds 11.5 points per game, but also leads the Big Sky and ranks 34
th nationally in assists with 41, averaging 5.1 per game which ranks second. Additionally, she ranks 21
st in the country with 23 three-pointers made, ranking 25
th nationally with 2.88 per game. Beattie also adds 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.
Oral Roberts sits at 5-1 on the year and come to Flagstaff on a four-game winning streak. Like the Lumberjacks, the Golden Eagles have a high-powered offense, averaging 82.0 points per game. On the defensive side, ORU allows 71.5 points per game and forces 20.2 turnovers. They drain 7.0 triples per game at a 29.2 percent clip. Five players average double figures, led by Taleyah Jones and Jalei Oglesby with 15.3 points per game each.
Wednesday marks the first-ever meeting with the Lumberjacks and Golden Eagles. The Lumberjacks are 10-19 all-time against current Summit League opponents.
South Dakota is 3-5 on the year, with two of the losses coming in overtime. The Yotes boast one of the nation's best players in Grace Larkins who ranks second nationally with 25.3 points per game. Larkins is fourth in the country in total points (202) and first in field goals made (80). USD averages 73.5 points per game and allows opponents to average 76.3 percent. The Yotes will play at Montana State on Wednesday before hosting NAU.
Saturday will serve as a rematch to last year's second-round WNIT matchup, where NAU fell 79-65. The Lumberjacks led 37-31 at the half but were outscored 48-28 in the final two quarters. Beattie led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds, making 5-of-12 from three-point range and 6-of-13 from the field overall, while Glancey had 13 points and a career-high four blocks to go with six rebounds and four assists. Free throws were the biggest discrepancy, as NAU was called for 23 fouls that allowed South Dakota to make a 27-of-28 from the free throw line. Additionally, the Yotes forced 18 turnovers and scored 19 points off them.
Prior to the WNIT, Northern Arizona and South Dakota had met twice in program history, with the Coyotes winning both games to lead the all-time series 3-0. The last meeting took place on Nov. 18, 2011, where NAU lost 73-56 in Vermillion. The season prior, the Lumberjacks lost 69-57 on Dec. 9, 2010, in Flagstaff.
Northern Arizona has a week off before returning to the Rolle Activity Center for its final home game of 2024, hosting West Coast Conference foe, San Francisco. Tipoff is set for Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. MST on ESPN+. The Dons are 2-3 and play at Seton Hall and Columbia before coming to Flagstaff. Last season, NAU beat USF 92-76 on the road and NAU is going for its sixth-straight victory over the WCC.
