PHOENIX, Ariz. (Dec. 29, 2024) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team closed non-conference play and 2024 with a 79-70 loss at Grand Canyon this afternoon at the Global Credit Arena in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Lumberjacks fought for 40 minutes to nearly erase an 18-point deficit, closing the non-conference slate 9-4 on the year. Grand Canyon wins its 11-straight game and remains undefeated at home (11-0) to improve to 13-2 on the season.
Olivia Moran scored 14 points to reach 1,000 in her career at Northern Arizona. The senior entered the day needing exactly 14 and scored 12 in the third quarter before finding the final two at the free throw line in the fourth. She would end the day with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Joining her in double-digit scoring was
Taylor Feldman with 25 points, 17 of which came in the second quarter. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, 8-of-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range.
Leia Beattie drained four three-pointers and made 5-of-10 from the field for 14 points. A 20-game double-digit scoring streak came to an end for
Sophie Glancey, who ended the day with nine points and nine rebounds.
Northern Arizona trailed 46-21 at the half, but outscored the Lopes 41-33 in the second half.
"GCU is an incredible team and came out ready to battle. It took us some time to settle in, but really proud of the team for the resilience in the second half," said head coach
Loree Payne. "It gives us great momentum headed into conference play."
Northern Arizona started the game 0-for-9 from the field, not making a field goal until the 3:14 mark. Meanwhile, the Lopes were able to build a 14-2 lead following a 12-0 run. The surge would wind up stretching to 19-4, allowing GCU to lead 23-10 after the first quarter. The Lumberjacks started to find their groove in the final minutes of the frame, making four of their five final field goal attempts. The Lopes couldn't miss, shooting 69 percent (11-16) in the first compared to 29 percent (4-14) for NAU.
Saniyah Neverson scored six points, making three of NAU's four field goals during the opening quarter.
Feldman scored 17 of her 19 first half points in the second quarter, going an impressive 5-for-5 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line during the period. She went on a 7-0 run of her own to trim the deficit to single digits, but GCU responded with seven-straight points to retake a 38-20 lead. At the half, NAU trailed 46-29 after being outscored 23-to-19 in the second quarter.
After the first two quarters, the Lumberjacks were shooting 38 percent (10-for-26) from the field compared to 67 percent (20-for-30) for Grand Canyon.
The Lopes hit some foul trouble to start the third, allowing Northern Arizona to trim the lead down to 49-37.
Olivia Moran scored all six points during a 6-0 run and the defense kept the Lopes without a field goal for 3:31 of the third. However, by the midway point, the Lumberjacks still trailed 53-39.
Olivia Moran would end the quarter scoring 12 of NAU's 21 third quarter points, allowing the 'Jacks to outscore the Lopes 21-to-15 during the frame.
Olivia Moran would make a layup that was followed by two free throws from
Nyah Moran to make it a single-digit game, but GCU stayed composed and quickly found six points to go back up 59-47. At the end of the third, NAU trailed 61-50. Defensively, the Lumberjacks held the Lopes to 25 percent (4-for-14) from the field during the third.
Northern Arizona did anything but back down in the fourth quarter. A 6-0 run that included an old-fashioned three-point play from Glancey and three-point from Beattie made it a 69-61 game with 4:51 to go. The Lopes would call timeout, and after the break Feldman made a jumper and Glancey made a free throw for a 9-0 run. With under three minutes to play, GCU stopped the run with five quick points and were able to hold the Lumberjacks off and hang on to win, 79-70.
The Lopes would end up shooting 54.4 percent on the day (31-57), making 5-of-11 from three-point range and 12-of-13 at the free throw line, leading from start to finish. Northern Arizona shot 41.5 percent from the field (22-53) with seven three pointers and a 19-for-25 performance at the free throw line.
The squads combined for 39 turnovers, with NAU committing 20 that GCU scored 22 off of. NAU was also outscored in the paint, 52-to-28, and each team had 30 rebounds.
Northern Arizona now opens Big Sky Conference play on Thursday night (Jan. 2) at Idaho State before taking on Weber State on Jan. 4 in Ogden, Utah.
