Vote for the NAU Student-Athlete of the Week
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – This week, fans have five athletes to choose from for their choice for NAU Student-Athlete of the Week as nominated by the NAU Media Relations office. Fans can vote via the poll question on the nauathletics.com home page, as well as the link above. Voting for the week's nominees will be open until the next poll opens on Monday, but the winner will be selected based on the totals on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
Last week, the track and field teams competed in their final regular season meet before this week's Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships by hosting the NAU Tune-Up. As they've done all season, the track and field teams saw record breaking performances from several of their athletes and are primed for the conference championships to be held at the Walkup Skydome beginning Friday. The women's basketball team lost both of their games this week, beginning with a narrow 83-78 loss to Montana State at home on Thursday and then an 86-77 defeat at the hands of CSU Bakersfield on Sunday in their final road game of the season. The men's basketball team hosted UC Davis in the Sears BracketBusters game on Saturday, but the Aggies played spoiler in the Lumberjacks' home finale, defeating NAU 70-65. Finally, the women's tennis team played three matches in three days in three different states and came away with a 2-1 record this weekend. Following a 7-0 loss to No. 20 Arizona State on Friday, the Lumberjacks swept both Weber State and Idaho State, 7-0, on the road to go 3-0 in Big Sky play this season.
For the week of February 20, the following five athletes are your nominees for NAU Student-Athlete of the Week. To show respect to the other athletes, we kindly ask to please limit your vote to one per person to ensure fairness and integrity in the poll.
Track & Field:
Jordan Chipangama – Sr. – Mid-Distance – Lusaka, Zambia
Chipangama ran NAU's second sub-four-minute mile of the season on Thursday at the NAU Tune-Up when he took the men's title in a time of 3:59.47@. Chipangama outkicked his nearest competitor in the final 60 meters to win the race, giving him sole possession of second place in the Big Sky Conference and 22nd in the nation overall. He also leads the conference in the 800-meter run, having set his leading mark of 1:50.98@ in NAU's opening meet.
Women's Basketball:
Khyra Conerly – So. – Forward – Oakland, Calif.
Conerly averaged 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, shooting 59.1% and adding seven steals, five assists, and two blocks in two NAU games this week. She scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 shooting from the line on Sunday vs CSU Bakersfield while also tying career highs with five steals and two blocks and adding five rebounds in the game. On Thursday vs Montana State, Conerly shot 5-of-8 from the field to total 10 points and added five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Women's Tennis:
Ghizelene Doballah – Jr. – Oran, Algeria
Doballah went 2-1 in both singles and doubles play this weekend, helping the Lumberjacks to two Big Sky conference wins over Weber State and Idaho State. Playing at the No. 1 singles spot, Doballah defeated Weber State's Brittiny Moore in three sets after dropping the first, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 and followed that victory up with a straight set victory over Idaho State's Katharina Marsela, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). In doubles play, Doballah teamed with Alice Pacaut to defeat WSU's Thais Kurer and Carly Lloyd, 8-6 at No. 3 on Saturday. On Sunday, she paired with Malia Wahinepio for the first time this season and earned her first victory of the season at No. 2 doubles, beating ISU's Rilee Moorhead and Marian Tangarife, 8-4. She has now won four of her last five singles matches at the top spot in the NAU lineup, with her only loss coming on Friday to Arizona State's Jacqueline Cako, the No. 8 singles player in the nation.
Men's Basketball:
Durrell Norman – Sr. – Forward – Victorville, Calif.
Norman had a career-game on his Senior Night on Saturday, posting a career and game-high 26 points while also pulling down seven rebounds and recording two assists in 36 minutes. Norman shot 6-of-13 from the field and converted 14 of his 16 attempts from the free-throw stripe. He helped the Lumberjacks take a 45-26 lead into halftime over UC Davis with 16 first half points, while going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. The 16 first half points were just two shy of his previous career high of 18. Norman's 14 made free throws in his final home game as a Lumberjack is tied for the seventh-most in a single game in school history.
Track & Field:
Pascal Tang – Sr. – Throws – Leverkusen, Germany
Tang launched a personal-best in the weight throw for the second-straight week on his way to a meet title at Thursday night's NAU Tune-Up. His mark of 66-7 was 19.5 inches farther than his mark from the previous weekend, and now puts him more than seven feet ahead of his nearest conference competitor. Tang ranks 22nd nationally, up five spots from last week.
