Women's Basketball Travels East to Play UMKC and Ball State
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern
Arizona women’s basketball will play two games this week
starting with UMKC on Thursday, November 19 at 6 p.m. and Ball
State on Saturday, November 21 at 2:30 p.m. The Lumberjacks will
play UMKC in Kansas City, Mo., then travel to Muncie, Ind., to face
Ball State.
NAU (0-2) enters its second week of non-conference play after a
disappointing trip to southern California last weekend. The
Lumberjacks continue to play a diverse schedule this week taking on
UMKC out of the Summit League and Ball State from the Mid-American
Conference. This will be NAU’s first trip to both sites.
The Lumberjacks play their first five games of the year on the
road. Following this trip, NAU will turn around and play New Mexico
in Albuquerque, N. M., before playing its first set of home games
at the NAU Thanksgiving Classic.
THIS WEEK: UMKC & Ball State
Northern Arizona women’s basketball plays at UMKC and Ball
State this weekend in its second straight road trip. NAU played
UMKC for the first-time in program history last year and defeated
the Kangaroos in a close 52-49 win in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks
also have played Ball State just once in series history, a 76-61
loss at home during the NAU Thanksgiving Classic during the 2007-08
season
LAST WEEK: Pepperdine & UC Riverside
NAU lost to Pepperdine 96-67 in its season opener last Friday. The
Lumberjacks totaled 35 turnovers compared to Pepperdine’s 20,
and they were out-rebounded on the offensive end 20-9 and 47-39 for
the game. The Lumberjacks put Pepperdine on the free-throw line 48
times and the Waves converted 35 of those attempts. NAU played with
UC Riverside for the majority of the first half that totaled 10
lead changes. With just under five minutes to play in the first and
the Lumberjacks down a point, the Highlanders went on a 13-4 run to
stretch their lead to 10. NAU was down by as many as 20 points in
the second half, but continued to fight back and cut the UC
Riverside lead to 12 at the 10-minute mark. The Highlanders were
able to withstand the NAU run and closed the game with an 18-point
win.
Multimedia
Fans can watch and listen to the UMKC game by signing up for Roo
Vision, it is also located on the main page of UMKC website and
is available for a small fee. Free Live
Stats can be found on the schedule page or by clicking the
previous link. Ball State will provide a webcast
on Saturday also for a fee. Free live
stats are available as well.
Patton Lives up to
Hype
Freshman guard Amy Patton turned in a brilliant debut weekend with
16 points against Pepperdine and then exploded for 29 points
against UC Riverside. The freshman from Tempe, Ariz., shot 6-of-14
from the field and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Patton
continued to shine against UC Riversdie with her first career
double-double scoring a game-high 29 points with 10 rebounds . She
shot 10-of-19 from the field and hit six three-pointers in 11
attempts and also went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Patton is
averaging 22.5 points-per-game and 8.5 rebounds-per-game through
her first two games at the collegiate level.
Change is Good
Through two games, the Lumberjacks are averaging 65
points-per-game, a huge difference than the 43.5 points-per-game
NAU averaged through two games a season ago. NAU finished the
2008-09 season averaging 60.4 points-per-game.
Freshman Delivers
Tyler Stephens-Jenkins made her collegiate debut and finished with
11 points, one of two Lumberjacks in double-figures in the loss
against New Mexico Highlands. The freshman from Goodyear, Ariz.,
filled the stat line with eight rebounds, two assists, two steals
and one block.
Some Perspective
Head coach Laurie Kelly is the ninth head coach in the history of
Northern Arizona women’s basketball, but the first to lead
the Lumberjacks to two 20+ win seasons. The Lumberjacks have
appeared in the conference tournament 14 straight years, second
only to Montana which has made 21 consecutive appearances.
Presence Inside
Lauren Hoisington finished 23rd in the Big Sky with 10.3 points
per game and was eighth in the conference among underclassmen. She
was one of only six players in the conference that finished in the
top 15 in rebounds, field-goal percentage, and free-throw
percentage. Hoisington scored in double figures in 16 games and
recorded five double-doubles.
Breakout Ahead
Caty Huntington finished 12th in the Big Sky in steals with 38 and
was second among freshmen in steals. She tied the single-game at
NAU record for steals when she recorded nine against Sacramento
State on Feb. 21. Huntington scored in double figures five times
and recorded three or more steals on three occasions. She scored a
season-high 21 points in a win at Montana State.
Filling it Up
Jenna Galloway is one of only two Lumberjacks to reach 130 points,
100 rebounds, 25 assists, 20 steals, and 10 3-pointers in the
2008-09 season. She appeared in all 30 of the Lumberjacks' games
last year. Galloway was one of six players, and two upperclassmen,
to do so in 2008-09.
Ambitious Scheduling
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 (Big
West), Ball State (MAC), New Mexico (WAC), Arkansas State (Sun
Belt), UNLV (Mountain West), and possibly Oregon State (Pac-10) at
the Fairfield Inn/Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic at NAU. Ball
State received votes in the 2009 USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Preseason
Coaches' Poll.
Scouting UMKC
The Kangaroos are 1-1 on the young season with a win over Drake
(70-68) in the home opener and a loss at Tulsa (62-57) on the road.
UMKC is shooting just under 40-percent for the season but have
limited opponents to 37.5-percent on the year. UMKC is led by
Chazny Morris who averages 22 ppg and 6 rpg. The Kangaroos advanced
to the Summit League Championships last year and were knocked out
in the first round by Oakland. UMKC finished the 2008-09 season
12-18. They return seven letterwinners and three starters this
year.
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are 0-2 this season after away games at Michigan
(87-67) and Western Kentucky (61-58). Ball State plays out of the
Mid-American Conference and won the league last year advancing to
the NCAA tournament. As a No. 12 seed, the Cardinals upset No. 5
seed Tennessee (71-55) and ended up losing in the second round to
No. 4 seed Iowa State (71-57). Ball State features Emily
Maggert who averages 19 ppg and 10.5 rpg.
2009-10 Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Portland State 63 (7)
2. Montana 56 (2)
3. Montana State 50
4. Weber State 30
5. Idaho State 29
6. Northern Colorado 28
7. Eastern Washington 25
8. Sacramento State 22
9. Northern Arizona 21
(First place votes in parenthesis)
2009-10 Big Sky Preseason Media Poll
1. Portland State 204 (15)
2. Montana 201 (9)
3. Montana State 162
4. Idaho State 111
5. Sacramento State 108
6. Weber State 90
7.Eastern Washington 75
8. Northern Colorado 66
9. Northern Arizona 63
(First place votes in parenthesis)
