| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 29 |
Northern Arizona vs. Idaho State (Thursday, Feb. 29 | 6 p.m. MST | Findlay Toyota Court | Flagstaff, Ariz.) |
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Live Stats | ESPN+ |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
| GAME 30 |
Northern Arizona vs. Weber State (Saturday, March 2 | 2 p.m. MST | Findlay Toyota Court | Flagstaff, Ariz.) |
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Live Stats | ESPN+ |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 28, 2024) – For the final time this season, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team takes to Findlay Toyota Court, hosting Idaho State and Weber State as the regular season reaches the endpoint.
The Lumberjacks host the Bengals on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time before clashing against the Wildcats on Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. MST. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ with tickets available on NAUAthletics.com/buy.
This is the fourth time in program history that Northern Arizona has played on Leap Day, going 0-3 in contests during the 1979-80, 1991-92 and 2019-20 seasons.
Northern Arizona sits in second place in the league standings with a 20-8 overall record and a 12-3 mark in Big Sky Conference play. It's the second-straight season NAU has eclipsed the 20-win threshold, putting together consecutive 20-win seasons since 2005-06 and 2006-07. Should NAU win its final three games, the squad will set a new program record for wins in a single season with 23. Northern Arizona's best Big Sky record is 15-1 set in 1997-98.
Last week, the Lumberjacks suffered an uncharacteristic loss at Eastern Washington where they were held to a season low in points, field goals made, field goal percentage and assists. On Saturday, NAU came back from a 37-30 halftime deficit at Idaho, limiting the Vandals to just 18 second half points to complete a 60-55 bounce back victory.
Three players average double figures for Northern Arizona, led by sophomore
Sophie Glancey with 14.8 points per game. Glancey continues to lead the league in field goal percentage, making 52.7 percent of her shots. In conference-only games, Glancey averages a league-best 17.1 points per game, and she leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 points per game.
Prior to Saturday's game, a pair of seniors in
Grace Beasley and
Emily Rodabaugh will be honored before their final home game at Findlay Toyota Court. Rodabaugh has played in 143 games in a Lumberjack uniform and leaves NAU ranked in the top-ten in nine different categories, including the all-time leader in three-pointers made and attempted. She currently averages 11.6 points per game with 61 made triples on the year.
In one season with the Lumberjacks, Beasley averages 9.3 points and 3.0 assists. Fellow Montana State transfer,
Leia Beattie, rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.8 points per game.
As a team, Northern Arizona leads the conference with 75.8 points per game, shooting at a 42.3 percent clip. The squad also leads the conference with 15.93 assists per game while ranking second in free throw percentage (77.6%), rebounding (38.4 rpg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16).
NAU looks to go for a season sweep over both Idaho State and Weber State. The Bengals are 11-15 and 7-8 in Big Sky play with a 2-10 mark on the road this season. Idaho State played one game last week, coming away with a 72-57 victory at Weber State that snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Bengals average 59.2 points per game with Maria Dias averaging 10.2. Kacey Spink is the team leader in steals with 2.1 per game while Laura Bello averages 8.2 points, 1.0 blocks and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Northern Arizona trails the all-time series, 31-48, and the teams have gone 5-5 in the last 10 meetings. Last season, the squads split the regular season meetings with each team picking up a win on the road. In Flagstaff, the squads are an even 19-19 with ISU winning four out of the last five.
Earlier this season, NAU won 73-59 in Pocatello. Idaho State scored the first 10 points of the game and led 30-25 at the half, holding NAU to just a field goal in the second quarter. Northern Arizona used a 16-0 run in the third to take the lead which it never relinquished. Another run of 14-0 in the fourth helped put the Bengals away.
Taylor Feldman was instrumental in the victory, scoring a career-high 21 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range to go with four rebounds and three steals as NAU scored 22 points in the fourth quarter for the win.
Weber State is 7-21 on the year and 4-11 in Big Sky play, entering its Thursday contest at Northern Colorado on a four-game losing streak. On the road this season, the Wildcats are 3-13. WSU averages 56.8 points and 34.9 rebounds per game. Daryn Hickok (12.2) and Jadyn Matthews (11.3) each average double figures.
The Wildcats have the slight 47-46 edge all-time, but Northern Arizona has won 12-straight games over Weber State dating back to the 2018-19 season. In Flagstaff, NAU leads 24-19 and have won seven-straight at the Skydome.
Earlier this season, Northern Arizona had five score in double figures with an 85-65 win on Feb. 1 in Ogden, Utah. The Lumberjacks led 18-6 after the first quarter, but Weber State would cut the lead down to two points in the second quarter. After leading 34-27 at the half, NAU outscored the Wildcats 24-22 in a closely contested third frame before a big 14-0 run in the fourth quarter helped Northern Arizona put the game away. Northern Arizona put together its best shooting performance of the season, making 30-of-55 from the field (54.5%) while also making a season-high 13 three-pointers (54.2%).
Following this week, the final game of the regular season takes NAU to Greeley, Colo., on Monday, March 4, where the Lumberjacks will go for a season sweep of Northern Colorado. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MST. After that, Northern Arizona treks to Boise, Idaho for the Big Sky Championships from March 9-13.
