FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Jan. 22, 2025) – After starting Big Sky Conference play with four of its first six games on the road, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team gets to stick around Flagstaff for four-straight games beginning this Thursday and Saturday at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff.
The homestand begins with a rematch of last year's Big Sky Championship game when Eastern Washington comes to town on Jan. 23 for a 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time tip. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Lumberjacks will put a six-game winning streak over Idaho on the line at 12 p.m. MST. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with tickets available at nauathletics.com/buy.
It's a special week in the Skydome, as the Lumberjacks will be taking on their alternate identity, the Astrojacks. Announced in August, the new alternate identity was chosen to recognize and celebrate Flagstaff and the greater Northern Arizona region's rich lunar legacy, including Flagstaff being named the world's first International Dark Sky City in 2001. The Astrojacks will land on Flagstaff's soil six times during the 2024-25 athletic seasons – including two women's basketball and two men's basketball games, plus women's soccer and volleyball that took place in the Fall.
NAU will don special limited edition Astrojack jerseys that will be available for auction until 2:30 p.m. MST on Jan. 25 following the contest against the Vandals. For more information on the Astrojacks, click
HERE. To participate in the auction, click
HERE.
Northern Arizona is 14-5 on the season and is tied for second in the Big Sky standings with a 5-1 conference record. At home this season, the Lumberjacks are 5-1. The Lumberjacks were picked to finish first in both preseason polls and have a two-game winning streak heading into this weekend's series.
Eastern Washington, the defending regular season and tournament conference champions, bring a 6-12 overall record with them to Flagstaff and a 2-4 mark in Big Sky play. Most recently, the Eagles lost to Montana State at home by a score of 58-56 on Monday night after losing to the Vandals on the road 67-57 the previous game. NAU lost to MSU 87-81 on Jan. 11, and both squads picked up wins over Sacramento State and Portland State.
Thursday's matchup will serve as a rematch between the Eagles and the Lumberjacks, who last clashed in the Big Sky Championship game on March 13 in Boise, Idaho where EWU won 73-64. During the regular season, both teams picked up a win on their own home floors. The Jan. 27 contest in Flagstaff was won by NAU 89-81 in overtime. The Lumberjacks led by 15 points in the fourth quarter before EWU stormed back with a 12-0 run to push the game to overtime. The Eagles then won on Feb. 22 in Cheney after holding NAU to 20.9 percent from the floor.
Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 44-35 and have won two-straight. The Lumberjacks have won nine out of the last 12 games including four-straight in Flagstaff. The Eagles haven't won inside the Skydome since the 2018-19 season.
EWU is one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, ranking third behind NAU with 41.6 per game. As a team, the Eagles shoot at a 37.5 percent clip which is the lowest in the league, averaging 65.2 points per game. On the other hand, the Lumberjacks lead the league in scoring with 79.9 points per game. Peyton Howard leads the Eagles in points per game with 13.7, good for fifth in the league, while ranking fourth in field goal percentage at a 38.6 percent clip. Kourtney Grossman ranks third in the Big Sky in rebounds with 9.4 per contest.
It will be a three-point showdown on Thursday, as Howard averages 1.9 triples per game behind
Leia Beattie who leads the league with 2.4 per contest. Howard is also fourth in the league with 3.7 assists per game.
NAU has won six-straight games over Idaho dating back to the 2020-21 season. Although Idaho leads the all-time series 23-18, the Lumberjacks lead 11-9 in Flagstaff and have won three-straight at home over UI. Idaho's last road victory over Northern Arizona came in 2020-21.
Idaho has taken major strides this season under first-year head coach Arthur Moreira, winning five-straight heading into its Thursday night game at Northern Colorado. On the season, the Vandals are 13-4 overall and are tied with NAU in conference play at 5-1.
The Vandals have two players that rank in the top ten in scoring in the Big Sky, led by Olivia Nelson with 12.6 points per game and Hope Hassmann with 12.1. Jennifer Aadland leads the league with 10.4 rebounds per game and will battle with
Sophie Glancey who is second with 9.4. As a team, Idaho is third in the conference with 67.1 points per game and boasts the league's-best defense, only allowing 55.6 points per game. The Vandals also limit opponents to a 33.7 percent clip. Additionally, UI leads the league with 44.2 rebounds per game, just edging NAU who ranks second with 42.7.
Northern Arizona boasts the top two scorers in the Big Sky in
Taylor Feldman and Glancey who each average 17.3 points per game. The two have collected three Big Sky Player of the Week awards each, with Feldman earning the honors yesterday after two road victories at Sacramento State and Portland State.
Feldman has scored over 19 points in four-straight games and leads the league in scoring in conference only games with 20.0 points per game. Prior to her first miss at the free throw line on Thursday, she had made a program record 45-straight free throws. The junior also ranks fourth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (43.7%), is fourth in free throw percentage (85.3%), fourth in three-pointers made (33), fifth in assists (3.6), fourth in assist to turnover ratio (1.4) and second in minutes per game (33.8).
Glancey ranks third in the country in double-doubles with 11, collecting three in her past five games. In addition to ranking second in both points and rebounds per game, Glancey leads the way in field goal percentage at a 49.6 percent clip and is the conference leader in blocks per game with 1.6. She has scored in double figures in 17 out of 19 games this year.
Also ranking in the top 10 in the league in scoring is
Nyah Moran with 12.2 points per game, while
Saniyah Neverson is fifth in rebounds with 7.9 per contest.
Beattie rounds things out with 10.8 points per game. At Sacramento State, she had a streak of making at least one three-pointer in 18-straight games snapped. She continues to lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8), three-pointers made (46), three-pointers made per game (2.4) and three-point percentage (41.8%).
Northern Arizona has a week break before hosting Northern Colorado at Findlay Toyota Court on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. MST.
