| Northern Arizona Women's Basketball |
| GAME 23 |
Northern Arizona at Montana (Thursday, Feb. 8 | 7 p.m. MST | Dahlberg Arena | Missoula, Mont.) |
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ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| GAME NOTES |
Northern Arizona |
| GAME 18 |
Northern Arizona at Montana State (Saturday, Feb. 10 | 2 p.m. MST | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse | Bozeman, Mont.) |
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ESPN+ | Live Stats |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 7, 2024) – Sitting alone at the top of the Big Sky Conference standings as the league slate reaches the midway point, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team continues its road swing at Montana and Montana State this week.
The Lumberjacks will look to avoid the season sweep from the Grizzlies, the only team to have beaten NAU in conference play this year, on Thursday, Feb. 8 with a 7 p.m. Mountain Standard time tip in Missoula, Mont. Northern Arizona then looks to sweep the Bobcats on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. MST in Bozeman, Mont., with both games airing on ESPN+.
Last season, Northern Arizona picked up its first road sweep in the Treasure State since 2005 and just the second time in school history.
Northern Arizona is in first place in the conference with a 16-6 overall record and an 8-1 mark in Big Sky play. It's the best start to conference play since 1997-98 for the Lumberjacks who have also won six-straight games for the first time since the 1997-98 season as well. NAU has won four-straight road games, sitting undefeated in conference away games at 4-0.
As a team, Northern Arizona has claimed three-straight Big Sky Player of the Week awards with
Sophie Glancey winning two-straight and
Taylor Feldman picking up this week's honor. Feldman helped the Lumberjacks beat Weber State and Idaho State on the road, scoring a career-high 21 points in a comeback win against the Bengals.
The win over the Bengals was also a career milestone for seventh-year head coach
Loree Payne who became just the third coach in NAU history to eclipse over 100 wins in a career at Northern Arizona, clinching her 100
th victory at the helm and her 230
th overall. With a win at Montana, Payne will earn her 66
th career conference victory, the most by any coach at Northern Arizona.
The Lumberjacks boast the nation's ninth-best free throw percentage, making 79.1 percent at the line to lead the league. In conference-only games, NAU has made 146-of-170 (85.9%).
Montana is in third place in the league standings with a 15-6 overall record and a 7-3 mark in Big Sky play. The Grizzlies are coming off a loss at Eastern Washington last Saturday. The Lumberjacks and the Grizzlies last clashed at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff on Jan. 13, 2024 where NAU was edged, 89-84. NAU led 41-39 at the half and were a perfect 21-for-21 from the free throw line with a 42-24 edge in the paint, but Montana drained 14 three pointers in the win.
Leia Beattie led six players in double figures with a career-high 22 points.
Northern Arizona trails the all-time series, 17-63 and have lost two-straight to the Grizzlies. Five out of the last six games between the squads have been decided by six points or less, including a 76-74 NAU victory in Missoula last season. That victory marked just the fourth-ever win in Missoula (4-34) and the first since 2006-07. There were 13 ties and 11 lead changes in the win where NAU erased a 15-point deficit.
Thursday night will be a battle between two of the top-scorers in the Big Sky, as Glancey ranks fifth in the conference with 14.1 points per game and Montana's Carmen Gfeller ranks fourth with 14.7. Gfeller (119-228) and Glancey (121-232) are also tied for first in field goal percentage, draining 52.2 percent from the field this season.
Northern Arizona leads the league with 78.5 points per game, edging Montana who ranks second with 74.4 points per game, as NAU ranks 25
th in the nation in scoring offense. The Grizzlies lead the league in field goal percentage (44.4%), and three-point percentage (38.7%) and three-pointers per game (10.9). The Lumberjacks are third in rebounding with 38.0 per game, just behind Montana with 38.5 per game.
Glancey adds 7.0 rebounds per contest and will go up against the Big Sky's top-rebounder Dani Bartsch who grabs 9.6 rebounds per game for the Grizzlies. It will also be a battle behind the arc as NAU's
Emily Rodabaugh shoots 38.6 percent from three-point range, making 2.5 per game, and Montana's Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw leads the way with 41.1 percent and 2.3 makes per game.
Montana State will host Northern Colorado on Thursday night before hosting the Lumberjacks, but the Bobcats are on a four-game win streak and are also 7-3 in the Big Sky and 13-10 overall. Northern Arizona led from start-to-finish in an 88-73 victory over MSU in Flagstaff on Jan. 11. Montana State dropped two of its next three games, but have since won four-straight including a 62-61 upset on the road at Eastern Washington.
If the Lumberjacks can top the Bobcats on Saturday, it will be the second-straight season sweep and the fourth-straight win over MSU since losing in the 2022 Big Sky title game. Last season, Northern Arizona picked up an 85-80 win on the road in Bozeman, its first since 2009-10, which snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bobcats. All-time in Bozeman, NAU is 8-28.
The last time out, Rodabaugh scored 23 points with a career-high 7-of-10 from three-point range.
Grace Beasley and Beattie, two Montana State transfers, combined for 23 points while
Sophie Glancey nearly had a double-double.
The Bobcats have three players who average double figures, led by Katelyn Limardo with 12.3 points per game. Marah Dykstra, who shared player of the week honors with Feldman, adds 9.8. As a team, MSU scores 61.0 points per game and allows 58.5.
Besides Glancey, Rodabaugh (12.0), Beattie (11.6) and
Olivia Moran are also averaging double figures this season. Moran has scored in double figures in every Big Sky game so far this season, ranking ninth in conference-only games with 13.9 points per game.
Northern Arizona returns to Findlay Toyota Court for the first time in February to host Sacramento State (Feb. 15) and Portland State (Feb. 17), looking for the season sweep over both teams.
