FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Feb. 19, 2025) – With the postseason just around the corner, the Northern Arizona women's basketball team is preparing to head out on its final road trip of the year.
NAU faces Idaho on Thursday, Feb. 20 in Moscow, Idaho for a 7 p.m. Mountain Standard time tip. On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Lumberjacks play at Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash., at 3 p.m. MST.
The Lumberjacks are 21-6 and 12-2 in Big Sky Conference play, eclipsing the 20-win mark for the third-straight season, the first time the program has achieved the feat. NAU ranks second in the Big Sky Conference behind Montana State who is 14-0 in league play, winning 17-straight.
Northern Arizona has won three-straight games and nine out of its last 10. Last week, the Lumberjacks beat Portland State and Sacramento State at home in a pair of double-digit victories.
Sophie Glancey was honored for the sixth time this season as the Big Sky Player of the Week after averaging a double-double of 21.0 points and 11.5 rebounds. Northern Arizona has claimed a Big Sky record 10 Player of the Week awards this season.
Glancey ranks eighth in the nation with 14 double-doubles in 27 games played this season. She leads the Big Sky with 18.0 points per game, scoring in double figures 24 times with 12 20-plus point performances. She also leads the league in field goal percentage (50.5 percent) and blocks per game (1.6). In conference only games, she's leading the league with 18.6 points per game, ranks third in rebounds (9.5) and is second in field goal percentage and first in blocks.
On a national level, Northern Arizona ranks 14
th in the country with 80.3 points per game, which also leads the Big Sky. NAU is 13-1 this season when scoring over 80 points. They are also one of the nation's best rebounding teams, ranking 11
th in the country with 42.70 rebounds per game and 10
th with 29.7 defensive rebounds per game. Northern Arizona is also 18
th with 8.8 three-pointers per game, ranking 11
th with 27.7 attempts per contest. The Lumberjacks rank 23
rd in free throws made per game (14.85), 39
th in assists per game (16.4) and 25
th in assist to turnover ratio (1.23), leading the Big Sky in all categories as well.
Taylor Feldman is second in the Big Sky with 16.5 points per game and has earned Player of the Week four times this season. She is third in the Big Sky with 3.8 assists per game and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7).
Leia Beattie leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8), while ranking second with 56 made triples this year. She is second in the league in three-point percentage (36.8%) and averages 3.6 assists and 9.3 points per game.
On Saturday,
Nyah Moran cracked NAU's all-time scoring list with 1,167 career points to rank 10
th. She averages 11.3 points per game.
Idaho is third in the Big Sky standings behind Northern Arizona with an overall record of 16-8 and 8-5 in conference play. The Vandals have lost three of their last five, including two-straight heading into Thursday. At home this year, Idaho is 9-2.
As a team, the Vandals rank second in the Big Sky in opponents points per game with 58.5 and lead the lead in opponent field goal percentage (34.9%). It will be a battle of the boards, as the Vandals lead the Big Sky in team rebounds with 43.2 per game, just ahead of Northern Arizona's 42.7 per game. Idaho boasts two scorers in the top 10 of the conference in Olivia Nelson (13.8 ppg) and Hope Hassmann (11.9 ppg). Additionally, Jennifer Aadland is second in the conference with 9.6 rebounds per game.
On January 25, Northern Arizona made a program record 17 three-pointers in a 106-76 win over the Vandals in Flagstaff. It was just the second time in program history that NAU had scored over 100 points in regulation in a Big Sky game, and the first since 2002. The Vandals had won six-straight heading into Flagstaff and the teams had identical conference records. Glancey scored 28 points in the win.
Northern Arizona has won seven-straight over the Vandals and have won four-straight in Moscow dating back to 2019-20. All-time, Idaho leads the series 23-19 including a 12-7 record in Moscow.
Eastern Washington is fifth in the Big Sky standings at 6-7 in Big Sky play and 10-15 overall. The Eagles are on a bit of a hot streak, winning three straight heading into their matchup against Northern Colorado on Thursday. At home this season, EWU is 8-4 compared to 2-10 on the road.
The Eagles average 64.6 points per game and allow 65.0, shooting at 37.3 percent clip that ranks last in the Big Sky. EWU ranks third right behind NAU in team rebounds with 40.4 per game, boasting the league's top rebounder in Kourtney Grossman with 10.1 per game. Grossman had a double-double of 13 rebounds and 14 points last time out against the Lumberjacks. Peyton Howard is the team's leading scorer, ranking fifth in the Big Sky with 14.0 points per game.
Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington have developed a bit of a history. The past two seasons, the teams have split the regular season meetings and then met up in the postseason in Boise. Northern Arizona won in 2022-23 in the semifinals and then EWU won in 2023-24 in the championship game. This year, NAU won the first matchup on Jan. 23 in Flagstaff, snapping a two-game losing streak to the Eagles. All-time, EWU leads the series 44-36 including a 28-11 record in Cheney. The Lumberjacks have lost two straight on the road to the Eagles.
With two regular season games remaining, Northern Arizona will play its final regular season road game on Feb. 28 at Northern Colorado before returning home for Senior Night on March 3 against Idaho State.
