FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Aug. 20, 2024) – Highlighted by 13 home games, Northern Arizona women's basketball head coach
Loree Payne has announced the 2024-25 schedule.
The Lumberjacks play four non-conference games at home, including a November matchup against the 2021 NCAA DI runner-ups, Arizona. Nine conference games, four of which come consecutively, round out the home slate. The campaign also includes a Thanksgiving tournament in Florida and the second-annual Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
Season tickets are now on sale
HERE, with a full schedule available to view
HERE.
Northern Arizona returns 77 percent of its minutes from last season, which saw the Lumberjacks set a single-season win record at 25-10 and advance to its second-straight WNIT appearance. NAU also returns three starters, including a unanimous first team All-Big Sky selection in
Sophie Glancey, second-team selection
Leia Beattie, and All-Big Sky honorable mention,
Olivia Moran. With 11 players returning, NAU did not lose any players to the transfer portal and welcome true freshman
Faith Curry and CSUN transfer
Talo Li-Uperesa.
"We are very excited about this year's schedule and the challenge that our non-conference opponents will give us in preparation for Big Sky Conference play," said Payne, who enters her eighth season nine wins away from becoming NAU's all-time winningest coach. "The majority of the teams we are playing in non-conference are postseason caliber teams and we look forward to the elite competition."
The Lumberjacks open the season on the road, facing two of their four Mountain West Conference opponents early in the year. The season opener is set for Nov. 4 at New Mexico, a place NAU last played in the first round of the 2022-23 WNIT. Northern Arizona will be looking for its first win in The Pit since the 1994-95 season. Along with the Jacks, the Lobos had a 20-win season in 2023-24 as well.
Three days later, the Lumberjacks rematch UNLV on Nov. 7 in Las Vegas. Last season, NAU hosted the Rebels at home where the Lumberjacks trailed by eight points at the half after both squads scored over 28 points in the first quarter. UNLV would go on to finish 30-3 and advance to the NCAA tournament.
Northern Arizona opens its home slate in friendly confines of the Rolle Activity Center on Nov. 11 when NCAA Division II member Fort Lewis comes to town. The Lumberjacks haven't met with the Skyhawks since 2014 and have won eight-straight in the series.
November rolls on with a game at Pacific in Stockton, Calif., on Nov. 17. Northern Arizona leads the all-time series 4-2 and have won two-straight, including a 96-65 thrashing last season in Flagstaff.
The annual matchup with Arizona takes place at Rolle on Nov. 20. The Lumberjacks beat the Wildcats at home in Flagstaff in 2017-18 but have since lost five-straight. The Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament a season ago.
The busy month of November continues Nov. 23 when NAU treks to Fort Collins, Colo., for a game against Colorado State. It will be the first time the two teams have met since 2018, with the Rams leading the all-time series, 7-5.
The Lumberjacks will spend Thanksgiving in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the St. Pete's Showcase on Nov. 28 and Nov. 30. Northern Arizona first matches up with James Madison before taking on Tulane. It will be NAU's first time clashing with both programs, as the Dukes finished 23-12 and received an invite to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament last season.
This year's edition of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge features a home game against Oral Roberts on Dec. 4 and a road game at South Dakota on Dec. 7. It's the second annual challenge, and The Summit League claimed the trophy last season via a tiebreaker. The matchup against the Coyotes in Vermilion, S.D., will serve as a rematch to the 2023-24 WNIT first-round matchup last March where NAU lost 79-65. It will be the first time NAU has faced Oral Roberts in program history.
Three more games in December round out the non-conference schedule. The home non-conference slate concludes with a game against San Francisco on Dec. 14. Last season, NAU beat San Francisco 92-76 on the road to go a perfect 4-0 against West Coast Conference opponents during non-league play.
NAU travels to Fresno State on Dec. 19 where it will look for its first win over the Bulldogs since 2018-19. The teams last met in 2022, and the Lumberjacks have lost two-straight. Non-conference play concludes at Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 29 in a matchup that once again includes two teams with over 20 wins the previous season. The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series 6-4 and won the last meeting in 2021.
Big Sky play and 2025 opens on the road for NAU, beginning with Idaho State (Jan. 2) and Weber State (Jan. 4). Northern Arizona swept both teams last season and own a 13-game winning streak over the Wildcats.
The Lumberjacks face a test early in the conference season when Montana (Jan. 9) and Montana State (Jan. 11) come to town. Last season, NAU played the Griz three times. After a narrow 89-84 loss in Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks picked up the program's fifth-ever win in Missoula and followed up with a 74-67 victory in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Championships. The Lumberjacks swept Montana State for the second-straight season, now winning four-straight over the Bobcats after losing eight-straight in the years prior.
Northern Arizona heads out onto the road for a brief stint at Sacramento State (Jan. 16) and Portland State (Jan. 18). After beating the Hornets 83-66 on the road, Sacramento State returned the favor with an 82-66 win in Flagstaff before NAU got the final say in the Big Sky quarterfinals with an 81-63 victory. The Lumberjacks have won two-straight over the Vikings after earning the season sweep last year.
NAU settles into Flagstaff for its longest homestand of the year to end January and begin February. First up is a Big Sky Conference title game rematch with Eastern Washington on Jan. 23, where the Lumberjacks will undergo their alternate identity, the Astrojacks. The two squads each picked up a road win during the regular season before the Eagles won the 2023-24 Big Sky title over NAU by a score of 73-64. The homestand continues with Idaho on Jan. 25 where the Lumberjacks will look for their seventh-straight win over the Vandals.
A rare Thursday night off brings NAU into a Saturday/Monday series at Findlay Toyota Court, hosting Northern Colorado on Feb. 1 before beginning the second half of Big Sky play with Weber State on Feb. 3. The Lumberjacks have won seven-straight over the Bears dating back to 2021-22.
It's back on the road to face Montana State (Feb. 6) and Montana (Feb. 8) later in the week. During last year's trip to the Treasure State, NAU swept both schools, beating MSU in Bozeman for just the ninth time in program history and for the second-straight season.
The final home series at Findlay Toyota Court takes place on Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 when Portland State and Sacramento State make its return visits. The Lumberjacks then play three of their final four games on the road, heading to Idaho (Feb. 20), Eastern Washington (Feb. 22) and Northern Colorado (March 1).
Senior Day and the final game of the regular season takes place on Monday, March 3 against Idaho State.
Northern Arizona looks to make its fourth-straight trip to the Big Sky title game in Boise, Idaho, for the Big Sky Championships from March 8-12.
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