The NAU women’s basketball battled back from a 12-point halftime deficit but could not complete the comeback as they fell 68-64 to Montana State tonight at the Walkup Skydome.

After the Lumberjacks held a five-point advantage early in the first half, the two teams jostled for the lead before the Bobcats used a 16-4 run to close the half and enter the intermission up by a dozen.

But down 17 two minutes into the second half, the Lady Jacks awoke and cut their deficit to two points on three occasions. Still, their efforts would be denied and they were handed their ninth-consecutive loss.

With freshman guard Amy Patton struggling (shooting 4-17 from the field), sophomore forward Katie Pratt led four Lady Jacks in double-figures with a career-high 20 points. Junior forward Lauren Hoisington — playing in her last game as a Lumberjack — added 12 points and sophomore guard Caty Huntington chipped in 11 points and a team-high four steals. And despite her struggles, Patton still managed to put up her conference-leading 13th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Jacks wrapped up their season at 5-24 (3-13 in Big Sky), the worst finish under head coach Laurie Kelly’s tenure. Patton led the Jacks with 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.