POCATELLO, Idaho (Feb. 3, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University women's basketball team used a second-half comeback to secure its sixth-straight victory this afternoon, beating Idaho State 73-59
. The Lumberjacks improve to 16-6 overall on the season and 8-1 in Big Sky Conference play, dropping the Bengals to 10-11 and 6-4.
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.
Northern Arizona head coach
Loree Payne made history this afternoon with her 100
th career victory with the Lumberjacks, becoming just the third coach in program history to eclipse 100 wins.
Taylor Feldman was instrumental in tonight's 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.
Olivia Moran came in off the bench and added a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Sophie Glancey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 17 points, making two three-pointers and leading the team with seven rebounds.
Northern Arizona shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field and were 7-of-25 (28%) from three-point range. The Lumberjacks, who own the nation's 10
th best free throw percentage, were 20-of-23 at the line. Idaho State ended the day with a 39.3 percent clip (22-56) from the field with four three-pointers and made just 11-of-17 (64.7%) at the charity stripe. Both teams had 36 rebounds each and NAU scored 21 points off 17 forced turnovers.
"I'm so proud of the team and their resilience once again. We were cold offensively in the first half, but our defense was exceptional. That allowed us to stay in the game and heat up in the second half," said Payne. "This is an incredibly difficult place to play in our league and we had some players step up big time.
Taylor Feldman really set the tone and hit some big shots, and then
Olivia Moran took over in the fourth quarter. It was a great team win."
The Bengals got off to a hot start with an 8-0 run, forcing an early Northern Arizona timeout by the seven-minute mark. It marked the first time the Lumberjacks had trailed in five-straight games. Out of the break, Idaho State scored again for a 10-0 run, keeping NAU scoreless until the 5:50 mark. Feldman, who scored eight points in the first quarter, got the Lumberjacks on the board after the team missed its first six attempts from the field.
The next possession, Feldman drained a triple, and it sparked a 10-0 run for NAU while keeping the Bengals scoreless for 3:50 to tie the game. It was then ISU's turn, who used a 5-0 run to break the tie and pull back ahead. With three seconds to go, the Bengals led 17-12 before Feldman made her second three-pointer of the quarter at the buzzer to trim the lead down to 17-15 before the second quarter.
Northern Arizona was held to 1-of-12 from the field in the second quarter and did not make a field goal for over nine minutes. The Lumberjacks were able to keep the game close by making 7-of-8 from the free throw line with a special thanks to Glancey who made 5-of-6 during the frame. The Bengals shot 54.5 percent from the field and took a 30-25 lead into the locker room at the half.
Despite the deficit, NAU owned a 21-19 edge in rebounding with 11 offensive boards through the first 20 minutes.
At the 8:47 mark of the third quarter, Feldman once again came through for the Lumberjacks with an old-fashioned three-point play after ISU came out and scored the first four. It was the first field goal for NAU since 9:07 remained in the second quarter.
The jumper started a 16-0 run for the Lumberjacks, who tied the game 34-34 when Feldman found
Olivia Moran under the basket and took the lead with an old-fashioned three-point play by
Nyah Moran. Northern Arizona pulled ahead 41-34 and forced ISU to call its second timeout of the quarter.
Out of the break, Idaho State used a 5-0 run to comeback within two points. The Bengals would come that close twice more during the third quarter, but the Lumberjacks were able to lead the rest of the way and led 51-47 going into the fourth.
Olivia Moran scored 12 points during the third quarter as NAU outscored the Bengals 26-17 during the frame and shot over 56 percent from the field.
A 14-0 run helped the Lumberjacks build their largest lead, 65-49, in the fourth quarter. The run expanded to 17-3 after Glancey's second three-pointer of the quarter. NAU shot 70 percent in the second quarter (7-10) and outscored the Bengals 22-12 in the final period.
The Lumberjacks, who are undefeated on the road in Big Sky play so far this season, continue their four-game road swing next week at Montana and Montana State.
