Iowa State limited Northern Arizona's women's basketball team to 29 percent shooting and outrebounded the Lumberjacks 49-28 en route to a 65-41 win Sunday in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones, who are receiving votes in both national top-25 polls, held NAU to just one field goal over the final 13 minutes and 54 seconds of the first half and improved to 3-0 while the Lumberjacks dropped to 2-3.
"I thought we did a pretty good job defensively with the exception of rebounding, but we just struggled to score," NAU head coach Laurie Kelly said. "We haven't been able to play with the same confidence and intensity that we've had at home when we go on the road. This was a great basketball environment to play in and we have to learn and grow from this experience as a team."
The first half started well for the Lumberjacks, with senior Katie Pratt knocking down three shots, including a pair of three-pointers, but NAU trailed 12-10 at the 13:54 mark. The Lumberjacks hit a cold spell from there, going scoreless over the next 9:37 while shooting 0-10 from the field and committing eight turnovers. Sophomore Amanda Frost ended the dry spell and an 11-0 Cyclone run with a three-pointer to cut the score to 23-13 with 4:17 left in the half, but Iowa State outscored NAU 7-1 over the remainder of the half to take a 30-14 halftime lead.
NAU shot just 23 percent and turned the ball over 12 times in the first half before shooting 35 percent in the second half while committing just seven turnovers and forcing 10 ISU giveaways. Iowa State shot grew its lead to as many as 34 points at the 11:02 mark at 60-26. The Lumberjacks closed the contest strong, outscoring the Cyclones 15-5 over the final 11 minutes.
Pratt and senior Caty Huntington led the Lumberjacks with eight points apiece, though Pratt exited the game late in the first half and did not play in the second.
Junior Aubrey Davis shot 3-for-3 for the field to total six points and three rebounds, while junior Amy Patton had six points and a team-high 10 rebounds, but shot just 2-12 from the field.
Iowa State had 14 offensive rebounds and outscored NAU 32-18 in the paint.
NAU returns home to host the Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic this week, opening play against Utah Valley at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday in Rolle Activity Center.
DIVING
Sophomore Gwen Smithberg posted a 10th place finish on the platform to lead five Lumberjacks competing on the final day of the Wildcat Diving Invite. The Lumberjack divers will join their swimming teammates for a home dual against Washington State at 4 p.m. today at the Wall Aquatic Center, the final home meet for NAU this season.
Sunday's competition was the first on the platform for the NAU divers this season, with Smithberg leading the way with a score of 193.85. Senior Cassie Anderson placed 17th with a 177.45 score, with junior Kristy Ardavanis finishing just behind in 21st with a 163.30 total. Freshman Kali Lents posted a 151.50 score and freshman Katie Dallmann totaled 126.00 to complete the NAU scoring.
On Saturday, all five NAU divers finished in the top 40 of the Wildcat Diving Invite. Ardavanis paced the Lumberjacks with an 11th-place prelim score and placed third in the consolation final for the second-straight day.
Ardavanis recorded a 245.00 score in the preliminary round to advance to the consolation final, where she scored 260.20 to take third. The second-best NAU finisher was Smithberg, a sophomore transfer, who scored 224.50 to place 20th overall while freshman Kali Lents placed 27th with a 217.65 total. Anderson scored 214.90 and Dallmann recorded a 195.60 score to place 39th.
NAU's swimmers will be back in action along with the divers today against Washington State. The meet will be the final home event for Anderson as well as fellow seniors Holly Frost, Chalene Dirks-Ryan, Kristin Jones and Krista Maier. The Lumberjacks are 4-1 in duals this season while the Cougars enter the meet with a 0-4 dual record, with each of their duals coming against fellow Pac-12 members. Senior Danielle Palumbo leads the squad in the backstroke events, having placed third in both the 100 and 200 back in WSU's last dual against defending national champion California.
"This should be a great final home meet for us," NAU head coach Andy Johns said. "I think we have some confidence after going 3-1 in Colorado and we should be ready to go. They have some very good swimmers but we think we can compete with them. We hope to have a big crowd and send our seniors out on a high note."
Washington State does not have divers on their roster but the NAU divers will compete during the meet. On the swimming side, NAU junior Rachel Palmer is the defending Verizon WAC Swimmer of the Week and will again look to lead NAU to victory. The Lumberjacks scored a 155.5-135.5 win in their only previous home dual against Idaho, but are just 1-6 all-time against Washington State and haven't defeated the Cougars since 1995.
Admission for today's dual in Wall Aquatic Center will be free.
