Women’s Basketball Looks to Rebound Saturday vs Eastern Washington
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Following a disappointing loss to Portland State in its Big Sky home opener on Thursday, the NAU women's basketball team (5-10, 0-3 BSC) will look for its first conference win on Saturday hosting Eastern Washington (8-8, 2-1 BSC) at 6:35 p.m. in Rolle Activity Center.
"Eastern Washington is a very good team, and it won't get any easier for use going on the road to play the Montana schools next week," said NAU head coach Laurie Kelly. "Our league is good this year; I think it's one of the strongest leagues I've seen in the nine years I've been here. Unfortunately we are not playing our best basketball right now, but getting a win against the Eagles will be critical."
Saturday's game will be Youth Basketball Night with free admission for youth 12 and under with a paying adult and free postgame autographs. At the conclusion of the game will be the first of three postgame autograph sessions this season and will feature Lumberjack players Shayla Batson, Shay May, Aubrey Davis, Katie Pratt, and Jasmine Sneed. Saturday is also Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Flagstaff Night with a special rate set-up for Big's and Little's to come to the game. Click the link for more information.
On Thursday against Portland State, NAU shot 53% in the second half and outscored Portland State 49-39 in the final period, but the Vikings built a 20-point halftime lead and withstood a late Lumberjack rally to earn an 84-74 win. Davis went 7-of-9 from the field for 15 points while adding four rebounds while sophomore Trinidee Trice also finished with 15 points and four boards. The Lumberjacks equaled their season high with 18 steals in the game and are now ranked 18th in NCAA Division-I women's basketball in averaging 12.7 steals per game.
Eastern Washington moved to 2-1 in the Big Sky with a 72-60 win at Weber State on Thursday. Senior Brianne Ryan totaled 32 points and 13 rebounds in the contest and leads the Big Sky in averaging 20.0 points per game this season. Senior point guard Chene Cooper leads the Big Sky and ranks fifth in the country with 7.1 assists per game. NAU has a 23-29 all-time record against Eastern Washington with the Eagles having won the last-four meetings.
