BOZEMAN, Mont. (Feb. 6, 2025) – A battle between the top two teams in the Big Sky Conference tonight went the way of Montana State, who beat visiting Northern Arizona by a final score of 73-66 tonight in Bozeman, Mont., at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for NAU, who falls to 18-6 on the year and 9-2 in Big Sky play. The Bobcats sweep the Lumberjacks during the regular season, and improve to a perfect 11-0 in conference action, winning their 14
th-straight game to improve to 21-2 on the season.
Three players scored in double figures for NAU, led by
Taylor Feldman with 17 points. Both
Nyah Moran and
Olivia Moran added 10 points, and
Sophie Glancey ended with 11 rebounds, four blocks, and seven points.
Leia Beattie finished with nine points and nine rebounds, while
Saniyah Neverson finished with eight points and seven rebounds and two blocks.
NAU won the rebounding battle, 48-to-41 but turned the ball over 19 times on 13 steals for the Bobcats. Northern Arizona did force 16 turnovers themselves as well and finished with a season-high 10 blocks. On the night, the Lumberjacks were held to 22-for-68 from the field, 8-for-31 from the field and 14-for-20 at the line. The Bobcats made 11 three-pointers on 25 attempts, and shot 38.5 percent from the field (25-65) and 12-for-14 at the free throw line.
"Tough one tonight, the team battled and left it all out on the floor. I'm so proud of how they competed through adversity and never quit. Our effort on the boards was phenomenal, but we needed to execute better on the offensive end to come away with a win," said head coach
Loree Payne.
There were three lead changes in the first five minutes as both sides settled in. Montana State forced the Lumberjacks to turn the ball over five times in the first five minutes as well, taking a slight 7-6 lead into the media timeout. Out of the break, consecutive triples from
Leia Beattie and
Ava Schmidt sparked an 11-0 run for NAU. After a
Nyah Moran three-pointer, the Lumberjacks built a 17-7 lead to cap the run. In the first quarter, NAU shot 50 percent from the field and held the Bobcats to 27.8 percent, leading 22-14 heading into the second.
Northern Arizona calmed down on the offensive end in the second quarter, not making a field goal for 4:47 of the frame. During that run, MSU used a 6-0 run to trim the lead down to four points at 24-20. Once the lull was snapped, NAU used a 4-0 run to re-extend the advantage out to 28-20. The Bobcats continued to threaten, as another scoring drought of three minutes for NAU allowed MSU to use an 11-0 run in just 2:45 to take a 31-28 lead.
After being outscored 19-10 in the second quarter, the Lumberjacks trailed by just a point, 33-32 at the half. In the first half, NAU dominated the boards with a 29-to-18 advantage, but turned the ball over 10 times.
The Lumberjacks didn't score until the 4:41 mark of the third quarter, allowing Montana State to cruise on a 15-0 run to build a 48-32 lead. Once NAU got its groove back, it continued to battle. The Lumberjacks used runs of 5-0 and 6-0 and thanks to six points from Feldman, NAU was able to cut the lead down to as low as seven points during the third. Heading into the fourth, the Bobcats held a 60-48 lead after outscoring Northern Arizona 27-16 during the third.
NAU didn't find the scoring column until 5:59 of the fourth quarter, following an
Allie Cummins three-pointer. The Bobcats didn't score for 3:30 of the fourth quarter, but NAU was unable to capitalize. Down the stretch, the Lumberjacks kept fighting. A three-point play by
Leia Beattie cut the lead to single digits with under two minutes to play before MSU extended the lead back out to 11 points after a big corner three-pointer. The Bobcats closed it out and would win 73-66.
Northern Arizona looks to bounce back at Montana on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Mountain Standard time in Missoula, Mont.
