FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 29, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University women's basketball team tied the program record for three-pointers in a single game with 15 in an 89-74 victory over Idaho State tonight at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks earn the season sweep over Idaho State and improve to 21-8 on the year and 13-3 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Bengals fall to 11-16 and 7-9.
Seven different players combined for 15 triples, led by fifth-year senior
Emily Rodabaugh with five. Rodabaugh led the way with 21 points tonight, adding six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Olivia Moran made three three-pointers on 6-of-12 from the field for a season-high 18 points and
Sophie Glancey rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
Nyah Moran added seven points and seven assists.
Idaho State shot 49.1 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range while the Lumberjacks were 28-for-67 from the field (41.8%) and 15-for-37 (40.5%) from three-point range, adding 18-of-22 from the free throw line. The Lumberjacks were also out-rebounded 38-to-33 but forced 20 turnovers that they turned into 27 points. NAU also added 40 points from the bench.
"I felt like that was one of the better games that we've put together in probably the last two weeks. It was great to see shots start to fall, especially in the first half with our spacing and trying to get our confidence back offensively," said head coach
Loree Payne. "Idaho State is a good team. They're solid and super physical and they play incredibly hard. They're probably one of the better defensive teams in the league, historically. For us to be able to put up that many points in the first half, it gave us a cushion because we tried to give it back to them."
The two sides were tied 5-5 before Rodabaugh's second triple of the quarter gave the Lumberjacks their first lead of the game at 8-7. The three-pointer sparked a 19-0 run for NAU, with three players combining for four three pointers to create some space with a 24-7 lead. Rodabaugh made her first four three-point attempts during the quarter, ending the frame with 14 of NAU's 31 points. In all, the Lumberjacks put together a 24-2 run over 5:35 to take a 31-13 lead into the second.
Northern Arizona was 7-of-11 from three-point range and 11-of-19 from the field, while scoring 15 points off seven Bengal turnovers. ISU shot 43 percent (6-14) from the field in the first.
Beattie and
Olivia Moran fired off consecutive three-pointers to start the second quarter, extending the lead out to 37-13. The three's kept coming, with
Olivia Moran's third triple making it a 45-20 game as the quarter reached the midway point. Idaho State started to settle in, using a 9-1 run to trim the lead down to 48-29 while the Lumberjacks didn't make a field goal for over four minutes of the quarter.
Leia Beattie hit her second triple of the game to put a stop to the run and NAU took a 51-31 lead into the locker room.
At the half, Northern Arizona was shooting 45.7 percent (16-35) from the field and 11-of-20 from three-point range while the Bengals were shooting 48 percent (12-25). The Lumberjack defense forced 14 first half turnovers that they turned into 24 points.
Idaho State came out and scored six-straight points to start the second half, forcing an early Northern Arizona timeout. NAU didn't score until the 7:17 mark when Beattie made her third three-pointer of the day. The Bengals did not let up, going on a 7-0 run to trim the lead down to 10 points, 54-44. With four minutes left in the third, the Bengals drained a triple to make it a 57-50 game after another 6-0 ISU run.
Taylor Feldman helped put Northern Arizona back in the game with a 6-0 run of her own, extending the lead back out to double figures, 67-55. Despite being outscored 24-16 in the third while ISU shot 56.3 percent from the field, the Lumberjacks led 67-55 going into the fourth.
NAU used a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to lead 80-59 with less than four minutes to play. Although the Lumberjacks only made 33.3 percent of their shot attempts in the fourth, they made 9-of-11 at the free throw line to keep the Bengals away. After outscoring ISU 22-to-19 in the fourth, Northern Arizona secured the 89-74 victory.
Northern Arizona will recognize Rodabaugh and
Grace Beasley prior to the final game at Findlay Toyota Court on Saturday, March 2. The Lumberjacks host Weber State with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
