FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 2, 2024) – For the final time this year, the Northern Arizona University women's basketball team took to Findlay Toyota Court, topping Weber State by a score of 73-41.
The Lumberjacks win their 13
th-straight game over the Wildcats, improving to 22-8 on the season and 14-3 in Big Sky Conference play. It marks the most Big Sky victories under head coach
Loree Payne and the most since winning 15 during the 1997-98 season. The Wildcats drop to 7-23 and 4-13.
After shooting just 26.3 percent in the third quarter to lead by nine going into the fourth, Northern Arizona exploded in the final frame by shooting 66.7 percent from the field and outscoring the Wildcats, 27-4.
Sophie Glancey led all players with her seventh 20-point performance in Big Sky play with 24 points and eight rebounds, making 10-of-16 from the field.
Taylor Feldman was the other 'Jack in double figures, adding 15 points on 5-of-7 from the field plus six rebounds.
Leia Beattie led the team with seven assists, also scoring seven points to go with eight rebounds.
Prior to the game, Northern Arizona honored seniors
Emily Rodabaugh and
Grace Beasley before their final game at Findlay Toyota Court.
Northern Arizona crashed the boards, out-rebounding Weber State 50-to-36 while also outscoring the Wildcats 42-to-26 in the paint. The Lumberjacks defended the perimeter well, holding WSU to 1-of-21 from three-point range and 25.8 percent from the field overall. WSU also only made 8-of-13 from the free throw line. NAU drained seven triples, shot 44.8 percent (30-67) from the field and were 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Additionally, 24 of NAU's 30 made field goals were assisted.
"What a fourth quarter. Defensively, I'm proud of our effort for only giving up 41 points. One of the things we talk about as a team is when we're not scoring, we need to get stops defensively and I think that we really put together a solid 40 minutes of defense," said Payne. "We finally got the lid taken off the basket in the fourth quarter which was great. We were getting great shots, and I didn't feel like we took any bad shots in the third quarter, they just weren't falling for us. It was a long and emotional day with the seniors, and a big last weekend. I'm proud of our team for finishing strong and going into Greeley with some momentum."
It was a back-and-forth game in the early goings with neither team able to breakaway, as the first quarter featured nine lead changes and a tie with neither side leading by more than four points. Northern Arizona shot 37.5 percent (6-16) from the field while the Wildcats were 7-of-15 (46.7%), but it was the Lumberjacks who led 15-14 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Northern Arizona used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 25-19 for its largest lead of the game, forcing Weber State to call a timeout. TFeldman went on to score eight-straight points for NAU for an 8-1 run as the lead extended out to double digits, 33-22. The Lumberjack defense did not allow the Wildcats to make a field goal for over 3:13, but a quick 4-0 run by the Wildcats cut the lead down to 33-27 at the end of the half. Northern Arizona shot 43.3 percent from the field in the first half, holding Weber State to 35.5 percent.
The third quarter was closely contested as well. Weber State came out and scored the first four points to cut the lead to a possession, but NAU was able to outscore the Wildcats 13-10 to take a 46-37 lead into the fourth. The Lumberjacks were led by Glancey who had eight points and six rebounds in the third quarter. Northern Arizona shot just 26.3 percent from the field during the frame while WSU shot 23.5 percent.
Northern Arizona began to pull away in the fourth quarter, using an 11-0 run to create space with a 59-39 lead. The run extended out to 21-1 and Weber State did not make a field goal for the final 8:44 of the game, shooting 7.1 percent (1-14) from the field, 0-for-6 from three-point range and 2-for-6 from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Northern Arizona made 12-of-18 to shoot 66.7 percent from the field.
The Lumberjacks close the regular season on Monday, March 4 against Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
