PORTLAND, Ore. (Jan. 18, 2025) – A big fourth quarter for the Northern Arizona women's basketball team lifted it past Portland State on the road this afternoon, winning 76-53 at Viking Pavilion in Portland, Ore.
It's the second-straight win for the Lumberjacks who complete the Big Sky Conference road sweep to remain undefeated on the road in conference action. NAU is now 14-5 on the year and 5-1 in conference games, winning its third-straight over the Vikings who fall to 4-10 and 1-4.
NAU led by just four at the midway point of the fourth quarter before bursting ahead on 20-2 run in less than four minutes to put the Vikings away, outscoring PSU 28-10 in the final 10 minutes.
Northern Arizona crashed the boards, winning the rebounding battle 47-to-34 including 23 offensive rebounds that resulted in 18 second-chance points compared to six for PSU.
Sophie Glancey led four Lumberjacks in double figures, scoring 23 points and adding 12 rebounds for her 11
th double-double of the season. She made 10-of-19 from the field.
Taylor Feldman added 19 points, scoring over 19 points for the fourth-straight game with four three-pointers.
Leia Beattie added 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists on 5-of-8 from the field.
Saniyah Neverson rounded things out with 11 points.
"I'm really proud of the team for being able to close the game with dominance in the fourth quarter. It showed huge growth by our group," said head coach
Loree Payne. "We talked a lot about rebounding, and it was so great to see us crashing the boards so hard. We are excited to get back to Flagstaff for the next four."
Both teams were cold offensively to start, with Northern Arizona shooting 30 percent in the first quarter compared to 24 percent for the Vikings. Glancey was hot early, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds to help NAU lead 13-10 after the first 10 minutes. The Vikings didn't score for the final 2:23 of the period, going 0-for-5 during the stretch.
Portland State came out in the second quarter and used a 5-0 run to tie the contest 15-15. NAU didn't score for three minutes until a three-pointer by Feldman put a stop to the drought. The Vikings stormed ahead by using a 7-0 run to give them a 22-20 lead, but the run was stop by another triple by Feldman. That sparked a 9-0 run for NAU that included four points from
Ava Schmidt.
After the first 20 minutes and forcing 11 PSU turnovers, the Lumberjacks led 29-24 at the half.
Northern Arizona used a 7-0 run down the stretch in the third quarter to build its largest lead of 40-30. Portland State hung around and slowly trimmed the lead to 44-40 by using a 6-0 run. The Vikings would hold the Lumberjacks without a field goal for 4:01, but Feldman would once again give NAU some life in the final moments of the third quarter to give the 'Jacks a 48-43 lead heading into the fourth.
The Vikings made it a four-point game before NAU decided to put it away by going on a 20-2 run over 3:40 to build an emphatic 71-49 lead. The run included seven points from Glancey and five from Neverson as the Lumberjacks outscored the Vikings 28-10 during the frame en route to the win. NAU shot 57.1 percent from the field with four three-pointers during the fourth, limiting the Vikings to 20 percent on 3-of-15 from the field and 0-for-5 from three-point range.
NAU shot just 25 percent from three-point range with seven triples but dominated in the paint 34-to-22. The Lumberjacks also forced 19 turnovers, scoring 15 points off the miscues.
Northern Arizona returns back to Flagstaff for four-straight games, beginning with Eastern Washington on Jan. 23 and Idaho on Jan. 25.
