BOISE, Idaho (March 11, 2025) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team was upset by Montana today in the Big Sky Conference semifinals by a final score of 71-67 in Boise, Idaho at Idaho Central Arena.
Northern Arizona (26-7, 16-2) led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, leading 35-26 at the half. Heading into the fourth, the Lumberjacks had a 48-41 lead, but Montana (14-17, 8-10) used a 10-0 run to take a 53-52 lead with 5:02 to play. It was a battle from there, as there were nine lead changes and seven ties in the fourth quarter alone. With 18 seconds left and down 67-65, NAU had two chances to tie or retake the lead but could not make either field goal attempts. With seven seconds left, a layup by
Olivia Moran made it a 69-67 game, but the Griz made two final free throw attempts to complete the comeback.
Nyah Moran scored a career-high 27 points in the loss, making 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from the three-point line.
Sophie Glancey finished with her 18
th double-double of the season with 29 points and 14 rebounds, making 13-of-15 at the free throw line plus added three blocks and two steals.
"This is always the toughest one, my heart breaks for my seniors. Our season isn't done yet, we're going to play in the postseason. Montana came, and they were lights out in the fourth quarter. We had a ton of breakdowns in the fourth quarter, but at the end of the day that's why it's called March Madness. It's disappointing, but we're moving forward from this," said head coach
Loree Payne.
Nyah Moran got the offense going with five-straight points to help NAU lead 7-4 in the early goings. After leading 9-6 at the media timeout, the 'Jacks didn't score a point for 2:41. A turnaround jumper by Beattie followed by a three-point play from
Nyah Moran made it a 5-0 run and NAU pulled ahead 15-10. At the end of the first, the Lumberjacks were holding onto a 15-13 lead behind eight early points from
Nyah Moran.
Nyah Moran would quickly reach double digits, firing off a three-pointer to start the second quarter. On the defensive end, the Lumberjacks held the Griz without a field goal until the 4:55 mark. However, NAU went 4:06 without a field goal of their own until a bucket by Glancey stopped the lull and made it a 22-13 lead.
Nyah Moran and Beattie hit back-to-back three-pointers for a 6-0 run, and
Nyah Moran's fourth triple down the stretch made it a 33-14 advantage. The Griz closed the quarter on a 7-2 run, but the Lumberjacks still held onto a 35-26 lead heading into the locker room after outscoring UM 20-13 in the frame.
Nyah Moran led the way with 19 first half points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range. Glancey nearly had a double-double when she went into the half, collecting 10 points and seven rebounds.
Continuing where she left off,
Nyah Moran hit her fifth three to start the half, popping NAU out to a 40-28 lead and forcing the Griz to call for a timeout. After the Griz cut the lead down to single digits during a scoring drought for the 'Jacks,
Nyah Moran made her career-high sixth three-pointer to help NAU regain control. Despite not making a field goal for the final 3:11 of the quarter, the Lumberjacks led 48-41 heading into the fourth.
The Lumberjacks were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter and held to 4-of-13 from the field compared to 7-of-14 for Montana. The Griz made three of their six free throws in the fourth quarter while NAU made one. At the line, NAU was 11-of-13 while the Griz made 13-of-15.
NAU won the rebounding battle 41-to-36 but turned the ball over 12 times compared to nine for the Griz. The Lumberjacks had six blocks on the day and shot 33.9 percent from the field and 7-of-17 from three-point range.
Northern Arizona will now wait for a postseason bid to extend its season.
