TUCSON, Ariz. (November 21, 2025) – Arizona pounded the paint for 58 points to stymy the Northern Arizona women's basketball team, 87-76, on Friday night inside McKale Memorial Center.
NAU (1-5) was charged by
Naomi White, who recorded her sixth game with at least 20 points in as many outings for a career-high 28 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
Simone Morris contributed 13 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting, pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists, while
Layla Davis recorded her second straight game in double figures with 12 points and four rebounds.
Mickayla Perdue paced Arizona (4-0) with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting. The Lumberjacks outrebounded the Wildcats 33-24, and limited Arizona to just five second-chance points but only secured five themselves.
NAU started hot from the floor, making its first four of six shots while limiting Arizona to 1-of-6 shooting to lead 9-4 at the first media timeout. The Lumberjacks allowed just 14 points in the opening period, the lowest by an opponent in the first this season.
Arizona found its rhythm in the second, starting the period on a 7-0 run to lead 26-20 with just over six minutes to go in the period. The Wildcats shot 56.3% (9-16) in the quarter and took advantage of seven Lumberjack turnovers to lead 37-31 at halftime.
White made back-to-back triples to open the second half and make it a 39-37 game early in the period, setting the tone for the Lumberjacks to shoot almost 80% from the floor in the frame. NAU would get as close as five and trail by as many as 11, as Arizona committed zero turnovers in the quarter to head into the fourth with a 66-57 lead.
The Lumberjacks continued to fight, securing a pair of defensive stops while scoring on three consecutive possessions to trail by just four with a little over eight minutes to play. But a Perdue triple on the next play pushed the Wildcats' lead back to eight, which they would extend to 15 by the midway point of the quarter. NAU got the deficit back to single digits down the stretch but were unable to close the gap before time expired.
White's 28 points are also mark the third time this season in which she has scored over 25 points, and the second straight as she tallied 27 in NAU's last contest. The redshirt freshmen entered tonight's contest still leading the Big Sky and ranking ninth nationally in points per game.
The Lumberjacks will hit the road again next week as they travel to Las Vegas for the UNLV Thanksgiving Turkey Tip-Off. NAU will face Northern Iowa on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Standard time and Creighton on Friday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. MST.
