| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 25 |
Northern Arizona vs. Sacramento State (Thursday, Feb. 15 | 6 p.m. MST | Findlay Toyota Court | Flagstaff, Ariz.) |
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ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
| GAME 26 |
Northern Arizona vs. Portland State (Saturday, Feb. 17 | 2 p.m. MST | Findlay Toyota Court | Flagstaff, Ariz.) |
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ESPN+ | Live Stats |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 14, 2024) – Back at home with an eight-game winning streak, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team looks for the season sweeps over Sacramento State and Portland State this week at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks take on the Hornets on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time before hosting the Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. MST.
Northern Arizona is on top of the Big Sky Conference standings with an 18-6 overall record and 10-1 in conference play, owning its longest win streak and best conference record since the 1997-98 history.
The program continues to make history, appearing in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 for the first time in NAU history last week before moving up three spots to No. 22 this week. Additionally, Northern Arizona claimed Big Sky Player of the Week honors for the fourth-straight week as
Sophie Glancey earned the nod for the third time this season.
Glancey was instrumental in two big wins over Montana and Montana State on the road, scoring 30 points in back-to-back games. It was just the third sweep of the Treasure State in program history and the second consecutive. On the week, the sophomore averaged 29.4 minutes, 30.0 points, 7.5 points, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She owned a field goal percentage of 69.2 percent, connecting on 27 of her 39 attempts from the field and was perfect at the charity stripe, making 6-of-6.
She has nearly doubled her production from her freshman season and has been taking the league by storm during Big Sky action. In conference-only games, she ranks first in scoring (19.4 ppg), third in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and first in offensive rebounds per game (3.0), first in field goal percentage (83-148, 56.1%) and second in blocks (1.1 bpg). In 11 conference games, she's scored in double figures 10 times with nine in the other and has five performances of over 20 points including two with 30.
During the eight-game winning streak, NAU has out-rebounded their opponent in every game and are 15-0 when out-rebounding their opponents this season. The Lumberjacks lead the Big Sky with 77.8 points per game, going 9-2 in 80-point games this season.
Northern Arizona is also fifth in the nation in free throw percentage, making 80 percent of its attempts on the year. At the charity stripe, NAU has made 42 of their last 46 attempts combined in the last three games.
Besides Glancey, both
Leia Beattie and
Emily Rodabaugh average double figures with 11.7 points per game, while
Olivia Moran adds 9.8 primarily off the bench. Beattie and Rodabaugh are among the best three-point shooters in the conference, adding 2.0 and 2.3 three-pointers per game, respectively.
Sacramento State has won three out of its last four games to sit at 4-19 overall and 3-9 in Big Sky play. Last week, Benthe Versteeg dished out 14 assists to set a Division I era single-game record for the Hornets. She has scored in double figures in four-straight games. Summah Hanson leads the Big Sky with 10 double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 32
nd nationally.
Northern Arizona leads the all-time series with the Hornets, 41-18, and have won three out of the last four meetings. Sacramento State's lone win during that stretch came in the Big Sky title game last season in Boise to advance to its first-ever NCAA Championship. The last regular season win for the Hornets came on Feb. 3, 2022, in Flagstaff where NAU is 21-7 all-time against Sacramento State. In Flagstaff, the Hornets have lost six of the last seven.
Earlier this season, NAU won in Sacramento State 83-66 on Jan. 20 after leading from start to finish. Glancey added 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win, while
Nyah Moran (16 points),
Olivia Moran (13 points), and Rodabaugh (11 points) also scored in double figures.
Portland State is 6-18 on the year and 1-11 in conference play, coming off a 59-53 victory at home against Idaho State, snapping a 15-game losing streak. Esmeralda Morales continues to lead the Big Sky with 17.1 points per game.
Northern Arizona trails the all-time series, 26-32, but are 15-11 all-time over the Vikings in Flagstaff. Portland State was the only team to sweep NAU in the regular season last year, and the Lumberjacks quickly made sure that did not happen again with a 73-65 victory on Jan. 18 in Portland where
Leia Beattie led the way with 27 points. Portland State has found success in Flagstaff as of late, winning four out of the last five.
After this week, Northern Arizona heads back out onto the road again. The Lumberjacks face Eastern Washington on Thursday, Feb. 22 before trekking over to play at Idaho on Saturday, Feb. 24.
