FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 10, 2026) – The Northern Arizona women's basketball team begins its final stretch of the regular season, meeting Portland State and Sacramento State this week on the road. The Lumberjacks will tipoff against the Vikings on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. MST and the Hornets on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. MST. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
NAU snapped a five-game skid on Saturday with a 73-65 win over Weber State to stand at 8-17 overall and 4-8 in Big Sky Conference games. The victory over the Wildcats saw a slew of team-best marks for the Jacks, including a 19-0 scoring run for NAU's longest of the season and the first time this season two Jacks secured a double-double in the same game.
Naomi White (31 points, 10 rebounds) and
Madison Watts (15 points, 11 rebounds) each collected their third double-doubles of the season, with Watts' securing her second in as many games.
Thursday's matchup with PSU will feature the first and last teams in the conference in 3-point percentage, as NAU sits first at 35% and the Vikings last at 25.7%. The Lumberjacks took the first meeting on Jan. 17 in Flagstaff, 80-68, picking up their first win of the season when trailing at the start of the fourth quarter. NAU will look to snap a four-game road skid and pick up their first win away from Flagstaff since Jan. 8.
Portland State brings a 6-17 record into the contest, including a 2-9 mark in league games. The Vikings most recently took a win over Sacramento State at home. Kyleigh Brown charges the offense, sitting third in the conference at 17.9 points per game, while Ajae Yoakum is pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. PSU and Montana are the only schools in the Big Sky sitting in the bottom four in both scoring offense (64) and defense (74.1). The Vikings also make the fewest triples per game in the league at 4.13. Karlie Burris, who spent time as an assistant coach at NAU from 2012-2017, continues her first season at the helm in Portland.
Sacramento State stands at 11-13 entering this week, including a 5-6 record in conference games. The Hornets dropped back-to-back games last week to Weber State and PSU, and will host Northern Colorado on Thursday before welcoming NAU to Hornet Pavilion Saturday. Preseason Big Sky MVP Benthee Versteeg leads the league in assists per game (4.54), while Ruby Gray leads a trio of Hornets averaging double figures in scoring with 14.8 per game. The Hornets are second in the league in points allowed (60.13) but seventh in scoring offense (63.42). Head Coach Aaron Kalhoff is in his third year at the helm in Sacramento, holding over two decades of coaching experience.
