FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 13, 2025) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team returned to Flagstaff to host Portland State tonight at Findlay Toyota Court, winning by a final score of 83-67.
The victory propels Northern Arizona to 20-6 on the season and 11-2 in Big Sky Conference play. It's the third-straight 20-win season for head coach
Loree Payne and the Lumberjacks, who will now set their sights on breaking the all-time wins record of 25 set in 2023-24.
The Vikings lose their eighth-straight game, falling to 4-17 on the year and 1-11 in conference play. The Lumberjacks sweep PSU for the second-straight season, extending the winning streak to four-straight games over the Vikings.
Four players scored in double figures, led by
Sophie Glancey who turned in her 13
th double-double of the year with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Ava Schmidt, a sophomore, scored a career-high 15 points off the bench for her first career game in double figures.
Olivia Moran also scored 15 points on 7-of-12 from the field with a game-high three steals and a block to lead the team.
Nyah Moran rounded out the scoring with 10 points, adding six assists, two steals and a block.
Taylor Feldman and
Audrey Taylor also dished six assists as NAU tied its season-high with 24 assists for the second-straight game.
"I'm super proud of our team. Obviously, that marks the 20
th win for us which is the standard of a successful season for any college basketball team across the country. You want that 20-win mark and fortunately for us, we have a lot of games left," said Payne. "I'm proud of the team and how they came out and battled to get the victory tonight."
Portland State came out and made its first three field goal attempts, taking an early 8-6 lead. From there, the Lumberjacks settled in and went on a 12-2 run to pull ahead 16-8, forcing PSU to call a timeout after
Nyah Moran and Glancey hit consecutive threes. By the 4:36 mark, Glancey had already accumulated 11 points. At the end of the first, Northern Arizona led 24-17 after making 11-of-25 from the field (44%) compared to the Vikings who shot 57 percent on 8-of-14.
The Vikings cut the lead down to three on two different occasions in the second quarter, but the Lumberjacks were able to make 4-of-4 from the field during that span to keep PSU from getting too close. After outscoring the Vikings 22-17 in the second, NAU held a 46-34 lead at the half behind 17 points from Glancey. The Lumberjacks also forced 10 turnovers on six steals in the first half and only committed three turnovers themselves.
The Moran twins put on a show to start the third quarter, with
Olivia Moran going on a 6-0 run by herself with all baskets assisted by twin sister
Nyah Moran.
Olivia Moran would make it an 8-2 run in all, and NAU extended its lead out to 56-36 within the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Lumberjacks held on to their 20-point lead and led 66-46 at the end of the third after outscoring PSU 20-12 during the frame.
Portland State held NAU without a field goal for nearly four minutes of the fourth quarter, using a 7-0 run in that span to trim the lead to 76-61. The Vikings would outscore NAU 21-17 in the fourth, shooting 40 percent from the field and holding the Lumberjacks to 33 percent. Northern Arizona was still able to hold on to their composure, winning 83-67.
On the night, NAU shot 39.5 percent (32-81) from the field compared to 44.1 percent (26-59) for the Vikings. NAU forced 16 turnovers on 10 steals and only committed six themselves. Twenty-four of Northern Arizona's 32 made field goals were assisted, and the Lumberjacks won the rebounding battle 46-to-40 including grabbing 21 offensive rebounds compared to nine for PSU.
NAU's bench outscored PSU's bench 26-to-6, and the Lumberjacks limited the Vikings to 3-of-15 behind the arc while draining seven themselves.
The Lumberjacks will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Sacramento State at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
