Women’s Basketball Approaches Final Two Games of 2009-10 Season
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern
Arizona women’s basketball will play Montana on Thursday,
March 4, the first of its final two games this season. The game is
scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. tip in the Walkup Skydome.
Thursday’s game is the NCAA “Pack the House” game
which is a competition throughout the country to set the highest
single game attendance this year. All tickets are $2.00.
NAU (5-22, 3-11 BSC) scored 98 points and shot 48.8-percent from
the field against Sacramento State last Thursday. Both numbers were
season-highs, but the Lumberjacks fell short surrendering 104
points to the Hornets.
The Lumberjacks are 3-7 at home this season and 1-5 in games
played in the Walkup Skydome.
Montana (13-13, 8-6 BSC) had one game last week and was defeated
at home by instate-rival Montana State, 77-72. Montana has lost its
past two games, the first time since November since the Grizzlies
have lost back-to-back games. Montana lost its first three games
this season, but has not lost three straight since.
PROMOTION
Thursday night’s game is the NCAA ‘Pack the
House’ game with $2.00 tickets for all fans. The first 100
people through the door will receive a free ticket for the Grand
Canyon Railway. Flagstaff middle schools will get free admittance.
An IPod will be given away to a NAU student in the student section
if there are at least 100 students in attendance
LAST GAME: SACRAMENTO STATE
NAU freshman guard Amy Patton outdueled Sacramento
State's Charday Hunt scoring 35 points to Hunt's 32, but the
Lumberjacks fell, 104-98, in the Walkup Skydome on Thursday. The
202 combined points between the two teams was a point off the
all-time record set back in 1980. NAU shot 48.8-percent from the
field and totaled 98 points, both season-highs, but also
surrendered a season-high 104 points to Sacramento State. Patton
exploded for a career-high 35 points on 15-of-23 shooting. She hit
3-of-5 three-point attempts and was 2-of-2 from the free-throw
line. She also totaled her fourth straight double-double pulling
down a game-high 11 rebounds. NAU tied a season-best with 12
turnovers and set another season-high hitting 13-of-13 free-throw
attempts. The difference came on the glass with the Hornets
outrebounding NAU 48-37 and 20-13 on the offensive end.
UPCOMING GAME: MONTANA
After sitting in second place for most of the Big Sky Conference
season, the Montana Grizzlies have slipped a bit in the standings
and are now situated in fifth-place. The Grizzlies have clinched
their 22nd straight appearance in the Big Sky Conference
Championships, the most among any Big Sky school all-time. Montana
has reached the conference tournament every year since its
inception. Montana is 13-13 on the 2009-10 season and 8-6 in the
Big Sky. After opening league play 6-2, the Grizzlies have gone2-4
in their last six. The Grizzlies have two games left this season at
NAU and Northern Colorado. Montana holds an 11-3 record at home,
but is just 2-8 on the road. The Grizzlies are under the direction
of 32nd year head coach Robin Selvig, whom has 27 20-win seasons at
Montana. The team is led by a trio of double digit scorers
including Sara Ena who averages a team-high 12.6
points-per-game.
MULTIMEDIA
NAU's Universityhouse Channel will carry a live broadcast of
Montana versus NAU on Thursday with Mitch Strohman handling
play-by-play duties and Sharon Falor doing color commentary. Andrew
Tomsky will provide courtside reporting throughout the game. It
will be a national broadcast found on Dish Network channel 9411. A
live webcast will also be available through www.bigskytv.org
and live stats can be found on www.nauathletics.com.
The game can be heard on AM 930 KAFF through simulcast as well.
SERIES HISTORY
The Lumberjacks are 9-42 all-time against Montana in a series that
dates back to 1988. NAU is 5-17 against the Grizzlies in Flagstaff
all-time. In their last meeting in January, the Lumberjacks lost to
Montana, 54-48. During their last matchup in Flagstaff, Montana
defeated NAU 74-49. Head coach Laurie Kelly is 4-11 against the
Grizzlies in her seven-plus years at NAU. The Lumberjacks' last win
against Montana came in 2007 at the Big Sky Championships. NAU is
currently on a five-game losing streak against Montana.
FIELD SET
The 2010 Big Sky Conference Championships is set with six teams
clinching postseason berths with a week left this regular season.
Eastern Washington is the top seed followed by Sacramento State,
Idaho State, Portland State, Montana and Montana State. With three
teams tied with nine wins, and two more with eight, the seeding
will likely change this final weekend, but the six teams will
not.
STREAK SNAPPED
NAU women's basketball will not play in the postseason for the
first time in fifteen years. The Lumberjacks 14-year streak of
reaching the Big Sky Championships was snapped with a 71-64 loss to
Eastern Washington on February 20, which mathematically eliminated
NAU from the Big Sky race. The last time NAU missed the postseason
was the 1994-95 season under head coach Charli Turner Thorne, whom
is currently the head coach at Arizona State.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Freshman guard Amy Patton is first in the Big Sky Conference and
No. 29 in NCAA Division I women's basketball in double-doubles with
12 through 27 games played. Patton has more than twice as many
double-doubles than any other league player. Patton has put up four
straight double-doubles, Jenna Galloway, Tyler Stephens-Jenkins,
and Vickie Toney are also among 30 players who have recorded
double-doubles this season. Toney was the latest to join the group
when she turned in 19 points and 10 rebounds against Montana State
on January 28.
BIG TOTALS
As of March 1, freshman guard Amy Patton is second in the Big Sky
Conference in scoring (18.9 ppg) and first in rebounding (8.6),
double-doubles (12), 30-point games (4), and 10 or more rebound
performances (13). She is first in conference play in scoring
averaging 21.0 points-per-game and second in rebounding at 9.7
per-game.
SCORCHING NETS
The Lumberjacks set season-highs against Sacramento State shooting
48.8 percent from the field and scored 98 points. NAU had not
reached the 90-point mark since 2006.
QUICK HANDS
Sophomore guard Caty Huntington ranks first in the Big Sky
Conference and No. 54 in NCAA Division I women's basketball with
2.5 steals-per-game. She has recorded a steal in every game but one
and totaled two or more steals in 18 of the Lumberjacks' 27
games.
NCAA RANKINGS
Three Lumberjacks rank inside the NCAA Division I Women's
Basketball Top 100: junior guard Vickie Toney, sophomore guard Caty
Huntington, and freshman guard Amy Patton. Toney is No. 60 in
assists at 4.7 per-game. Huntington is No. 54 in the nation with
2.5 steals-per-game. She is tops in the Big Sky in that category.
Patton cracked the top 20 this past week and is No. 19 in the
country with 18.9 points-per-game. She is third among freshman.
Patton is also No. 72 in the nation with 8.6 rebounds-per-game.
OVER FORTY
The Lumberjacks have shot over 40-percent in eigth of their 12 Big
Sky games and shot its best field goal percentage of the year
(48.8) in their last game against Sacramento State last Thursday.
NAU has shot over 40-percent from the field 14 times this season.
The Lumberjacks prior season-high came against Portland State with
NAU shooting 48.3-percent in a game in which they also set a
season-high in points (86).
LINEUP SHUFFLE
The Lumberjacks have used 10 different starting lineups this fall
with head coach Laurie Kelly looking for the right combination on a
game-to-game basis. In their last game, Kelly once again shook
things up starting Lauren Hoisington, Liana Boer, Jenna Galloway,
Amy Patton, and Caty Huntington. The group had not started together
since December 21 against North Dakota State.
CLOSE CALLS
NAU has played in eight games decided by five points or less this
year and hold a 2-6 record in those contests. The Lumberjacks have
played in 13 games with the margin of victory in single digits. NAU
is 3-10 in those games.
200 WINS
Head Coach Laurie Kelly reached the 200 win mark for her career on
January 16 against Portland State. Kelly is three wins shy of 100
wins in her career at NAU.
