The NAU women’s basketball team gained a key road split this past weekend to close out the first half of Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks used a strong second half to defeat Montana State 76-64 in Bozeman, Mont., on Jan. 28, but they fell 54-48 at Montana in Missoula on Jan. 30.

“It was really important [to split the weekend],” said sophomore guard Caty Huntington. “It puts us in position to be in the top three of the conference. But because we didn’t get [the sweep], we drop a little bit, so our home games become very important.”

In their victory over the Bobcats, the Jacks knocked down seven of their first eight shots after the intermission to extend their two-point halftime lead to 10 — only seven minutes into the second half.
Junior guard Vickie Toney had a night of career-highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds — her first double-double of the season — while freshman guard Amy Patton chipped in 17 points, 15 coming in the second half.

“Vickie was phenomenal,” said head coach Laurie Kelly. “She played with so much energy and leadership, and it was great to see. Every player that played significant minutes scored. It was a great team win.”

The momentum carried into the Jacks’ next game against Montana as they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before the Grizzlies got on the board with their first basket four and a half minutes into the game. Ahead by six at halftime, the Jacks maintained their lead for most of the second frame and were ahead by five with 6:17 to go in the game before the Grizzlies finished on a 16-5 run to clinch the victory.

“We played really hard for 40 minutes,” Kelly said. “We did everything we needed to do to win except make baskets in the second half. We put ourselves in position to win the game, and we just didn’t make the plays down the stretch to do that.”

Patton led the Jacks with 17 points and six rebounds, while Huntington contributed 11 points off the bench. As a team, the Jacks struggled offensively against the Grizzlies’ zone defense, shooting 31.7 percent from the field. The Jacks also took a season-high 30 3-pointers, making eight of them, while attempting a season-low three free throws.

“It was our first time playing primarily against the 2-3 [zone],” Patton said. “They forced us to put up shots, and we weren’t able to penetrate.”

The Jacks enter the second half of conference play at 5-16 and 3-5 against Big Sky opponents, tied for sixth in the conference. NAU plays six of their remaining eight games at home, starting with Northern Colorado on Feb. 6. The Bears defeated the Jacks 66-56 on Jan. 2 in Greeley, Colo.

However, after a strong first half of conference play that featured a home win over Portland State and two additional road victories, Huntington said she believes the team will be ready for the Bears this time around.

“We’re comfortable with the way we’re playing, but we know there are still improvements that we need to make,” Huntington said. “We know their style of play and how to counter that. We’re going to come out more aggressive.”