Women’s Basketball Travels to Idaho State and Weber State
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern
Arizona women’s basketball will close its seven-game road
trip this weekend with back-to-back Big Sky games at Idaho State
and Weber State. First up for NAU is the Idaho State Bengals on
Friday, January 8 at 7:05 p.m. in Pocatello, Idaho.
NAU (2-12, 0-1 BSC) lost its conference opener 66-56 to Northern
Colorado last weekend. The Lumberjacks play their first three
conference games away from Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks defeated San Diego on December 10 but have since
dropped their last five games, all road games. NAU is 0-10 away
from Flagstaff this season.
NAU plays Idaho State (6-9, 1-1 BSC) on Friday then travels to
Ogden, Utah, to face Weber State on Saturday, January 9. This
weekend’s games are the only back-to-back for NAU this
year.
LAST GAME: NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Arizona women's basketball dropped its Big Sky Conference
opener 66-56 at Northern Colorado last Saturday at the
Butler-Hancock Sports Center. The Lumberjacks were led by junior
forward Lauren Hoisington's game-high 16 points while sophomore
guard Caty Huntington chipped in 13 off the bench. Hoisington and
Huntington finished as the only Lumberjacks in double figures.
Freshman guard Amy Patton was held under 10 points for just the
second times this year. She would finish with five points. Northern
Colorado had three players in double figures with Lauren Oosdyke
posting a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Bears
leading scorers, Whitley Cox and Courtney Stoermer, each added 14
points. For the game the Lumberjacks shot 35.3-percent compared to
Northern Colorado's 36.5-percent, but the difference came at the
free-throw line. The Bears hit 24-of-33 while NAU went just 6-of-9
from the line.
UPCOMING GAME: IDAHO STATE
Idaho State is 6-9 on the 2009-10 season and 1-1 early into the
Big Sky Conference season. The Bengals have two wins this season
over Utah State winning in Logan (56-53) and in Pocatello (63-58).
Idaho State has also notched non-conference wins over Montana
Western (63-50), Southern Utah (61-48), Great Falls (86-42). The
Bengals finished 5-8 in non-conference play. So far, they have lost
at Montana State (77-73) and won at Montana (63-55). Idaho State is
directed by second year head coach and former Flagstaff, Ariz.,
product Seton Sobolewski. Idaho State is averaging 57.6
points-per-game while its opponents are averaging 67.5
points-per-game. The Bengals are led by Oana Iacovita and Chelsea
Pickering who average 13.4 and 10.4 points-per-game, respectively.
They are the only two players in double figures for Idaho
State.
MULTIMEDIA
For Friday's game, Idaho State will provide live stats, audio and
live webcast. Live stats and audio links can be found on the
women's basketball schedule page through www.isubengals.com. Audio will be
provided by Mark Liptak who will handle the play-by-play duties
while Brad Bugger handles color commentary. Fans wishing to view a
live webcast with audio can visit www.bigskytv.org
and click on the Idaho State Bengals logo for service. All three
multimedia formats are available free of charge.
SERIES HISTORY
The Lumberjacks are 23-28 all-time against Idaho State in a series
that dates back to 1980. NAU is 8-16 on the road at Pocatello
overall. In their last meeting, NAU lost to the Bengals 62-60. The
Lumberjacks won at Idaho State last year 66-60.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Idaho State head coach Seton Sobolewski will face off against the
Lumberjacks for the third time in his career (1-1). Sobolewski is a
Flagstaff native and a 2001 NAU graduate. Sobolewski received his
first collegiate coaching experience working as a manager under
former NAU Head Coach Meg Sanders from the 1999-2000 season.
ARIZONA CONNECTION
Northern Arizona and Idaho State share a connection in recruiting
from the Phoenix, Ariz., area. The Lumberjacks have four players
from the greater Phoenix area: Tyler Stephens-Jenkins (Goodyear),
Melissa Spaich (Gilbert), Amy Patton (Tempe), and Tiffany Amos
(Gilbert). Idaho State has three players from the greater Phoenix
area: Kaela Oakes (Chandler), Andrea Videbeck (Gilbert), and Morgan
Wohltman (Queen Creek).
CLOSE CALLS
In the Lumberjacks last seven games, four have been decided by
five points or less and six of 14 so far this season have been
decided by five points or less. NAU is 1-5 in games decided by that
margin.
LINEUP SHUFFLE
The Lumberjacks have used seven different starting lineups this
fall with head coach Laurie Kelly looking for the right combination
on a game-to-game basis. NAU has used three different starting
lineups in its past four games. After several lineup changes to
open the season, NAU settled into a starting five of Vickie Toney,
Caty Huntington, Amy Patton, Jenna Galloway and Lauren Hoisington
using that lineup for four games after starting that five in the
season opener. That unit is tied with the lineup of Toney, Patton,
Galloway, Hoisington, and Tyler Stephens-Jenkins for most starts
with five.
DOUBLE DOUBLES
Freshman guard Amy Patton is tied for the lead in the Big Sky
Conference in double-doubles with four through 14 games played.
Portland State's Claire Faulker also has four double-doubles this
season. Jenna Galloway also made the Big Sky's double-double list
with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Siena on November 27. Patton
and Galloway are two of 19 players in the conference this year to
record at least one double-double.
BIG TOTALS
Freshman guard Amy Patton is the only player in the Big Sky
Conference to have four games with 10 or more rebounds and two
games with 20 or more points. As of Jan. 4, Patton is ranked No. 81
in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball in scoring (15.7 ppg).
PATTON ON TOP
Freshman guard Amy Patton is currently first in the Big Sky
Conference in rebounding (7.2 rebounds-per-game) and third in
scoring (15.7 points-per-game) through Jan. 4. She ranks first
among freshmen in both categories. Patton has scored in
double-figures in 12 of 14 games this year with a season-high 29
points against UC Riverside and 26 points against Ball State. Her
29 points is the third highest total in the Big Sky this year. She
has put up double-digits in rebounds four times.
HOISINGTON COMING AROUND
Junior forward Lauren Hoisington has scored 13 points and 16
points in her last two games and is now 8th in the Big Sky
Conference in field-goal percentage this year shooting 43.8-percent
from the field as of Jan. 4 providing NAU with consistent scoring
inside. She had a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from
the field against UMKC earlier this year.
HUNTINGTON MOVING ON
UP
Sophomore guard Caty Huntington broke into the top 25 in scoring
at 25th in the Big Sky Conference with 8.6 points-per-game as of
Dec. 30. She is tied with teammate Lauren Hoisington in scoring.
Huntington is second with 2.7 steals-per-game and 9th in free-throw
percentage (75.9). The 2.7 steals-per-game places her No. 57 in the
Division I women's basketball.
GETTING IT DONE AT THE LINE
NAU women's basketball has shot 71.2-percent from the free-throw
line on the 2009-10 season. The Lumberjacks are currently ranked
88th in NCAA Division I women's Basketball in that category as of
Jan. 4.
DEFENDING THE PERIMETER
The Lumberjacks are ranked 48th in all of NCAA Division I Women's
Basketball in three-point field goal defense. NAU is limiting
opponents to 27.9-percent shooting from distance and the
Lumberjacks rank third in the Big Sky Conference in the
category.
BIG SKY OPENERS
Since the 1988-89 season, NAU's first for women's basketball in
the Big Sky, the Lumberjacks are 6-15 in conference openers. The
Lumberjacks have amassed a 4-7 record at home and 2-8 mark on the
road in Big Sky openers. Head coach Laurie Kelly has totaled a 3-3
record in league openers and is 1-3 in four road openers. Last
year, the Lumberjacks lost at Eastern Washington in overtime 74-60
in NAU's conference opener.
ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Lumberjacks will play their first five games away from
Flagstaff with nine of their 13 non-conference games on the road.
The challenging schedule includes matchups against Pepperdine
(WAC), Ball State (MAC), New Mexico (Mountain West), Arkansas State
(Sun Belt), UNLV (Mountain West), and Oregon State (Pac-10) at the
NAU Thanksgiving Classic. Ball State received votes in the 2009 USA
TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
