FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 12, 2025) – With under a month until the start of the Big Sky Championships, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team is back in Flagstaff for its final two game home stand of the year. The Lumberjacks welcome Portland State to town on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time before playing Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. MST. NAU will go for the season sweeps of both teams.
Northern Arizona is one win away from its third-straight 20-win season, sitting at 19-6 on the year. It would be the first time NAU has put together three consecutive 20-win seasons in program history. Additionally, the Lumberjacks have reached double digit conference wins for the fifth-straight year, ranking second in the league standings at 10-2.
This past week, NAU fell at league-leading Montana State by a score of 73-66 before bouncing back with a historic 96-76 win at Montana. The point total was the most amount of points ever allowed by the Griz to an opponent at Dahlberg Arena. NAU tied its single-game program record with 17 three-pointers, making 17-of-34 from behind the stripe while shooting 50.7 percent from the field overall. The Lumberjacks had six score in double figures, dished a season-high 24 assists and only turned the ball over seven times. In the second quarter, NAU made 13-of-15 from the field, helping the Lumberjacks sweep the Griz for the first time during the regular season in program history.
Sophie Glancey and
Taylor Feldman rank first and second in the league in both points per game and field goal percentage. Glancey, who has 12 double-doubles on the year, leads NAU with 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while leading the league in blocks per game with 1.8.
Feldman adds 17.3 point per game and ranks 15
th in the nation with 123 free throws made. She is the team-leader in assists with 3.8 per game and ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting at a 43.9 percent clip. Additionally, she ranks third in the Big Sky with 45 made three-pointers.
Nyah Moran is the other Lumberjack to average double figures, adding 11.4 per game.
Leia Beattie averages 9.7 points per game. She leads the conference in three-point percentage, draining 37.2 percent of her attempts from deep with 54 made three-pointers on the year.
As a team, Northern Arizona boasts the 15
th-best scoring offense in the country with 80.4 points per game, going 12-1 this season when scoring 80 or more points. NAU is also one of the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking 11
th in defensive rebounds per game with 29.5 and 15
th in total rebounds per game with 42.24. The Lumberjacks are lethal from three-point range, knocking down 8.9 per game to rank 17
th in the nation. At the free throw line, NAU ranks 24
th in the country with 14.88 makes per game.
The Vikings are at the bottom of the Big Sky standings with a 4-16 overall record and a 1-10 mark in conference play, losing seven-straight heading into Thursday. On the road, they are just 1-7 this year. PSU averages 54.7 points per game, shooting at a 37.4 percent clip. For reference, the Vikings have made just 93 three-pointers this year compared to 223 for NAU. Alaya Fitzgerald leads PSU with 12.1 points per game.
Earlier this season, NAU came away with a 76-53 victory at Portland State after using a 20-2 run in the fourth quarter. NAU will be going for its fourth-straight win over PSU and the second year earning the season sweep. In Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks lead 16-11 all-time while Portland State leads the all-time series, 19-11.
Sacramento State is 11-13 on the year and 4-7 in Big Sky play after beating Idaho by three points over the weekend at home. They are led by three in double figures in Jaydia Martin (14.1), Benthe Versteeg (11.1) and Lina Falk (10.6). Martin also ranks third in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (43.2%) behind Glancey and Feldman. The Hornets average 63.3 points per game and rank third in the Big Sky with nine steals per game.
NAU snuck out a 75-70 win over the Hornets in January. After falling behind in the fourth quarter, Feldman used an 11-0 run all by herself to rally NAU for the win, dropping 28 points in the process. Northern Arizona leads the all-time series, 44-19 and have won two-straight over the Hornets. In Flagstaff, NAU leads 21-8, but Sacramento State earned the win the last time it traveled to Findlay Toyota Court.
Following Saturday's game, NAU heads out onto the road for three-straight games to close the road portion of the season. The Lumberjacks begin Idaho on Feb. 20 before facing Eastern Washington on Feb. 22.
