The Northern Arizona women's basketball team (6-14, 1-7 Big Sky Conference) will begin the second half of conference play and close its longest homestand of the season against Sacramento State (7-13, 2-5 BSC) at 6:35 p.m. Saturday at the Rolle Activity Center.

The Hornets claimed a 91-85 double-overtime win over the Lumberjacks the first time the teams met to open Big Sky play on Dec. 29 in Sacramento.

"This is a game that we have to win," NAU head coach Laurie Kelly said. "We had a chance to beat them the first time but missed free throws and couldn't finish it.

"I think we have to get eight wins to get to the sixth spot (and qualify for the Big Sky Championship). We have to win this game and go on the road and win to give ourselves a chance."

NAU junior guard Amy Patton has been nearly unstoppable in her career against Sacramento State. In five all-time games against the Hornets, Patton has averaged 24.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 43 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point range. She has scored 23 or more points in four of the five games, including a career-high 35 points when NAU hosted Sacramento State during her freshman season.

Patton's career highs in rebounds (17), assists (eight), three-pointers made (six) and minutes played (46) have also all come at the expense of the Hornets. She nearly recorded a triple-double the first time the teams met this season, totaling 23 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists, her third double-double in five games against Sacramento State.

After opening conference play with home wins over Northern Arizona and Weber State, Sacramento State has lost its last five conference games by an average of 12.2 points per game. The Hornets have gone 7-4 in Sacramento but 0-9 on the road this season. While the team ranks second to last in the country in defense, Sacramento State is the highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 72.8 points per game. The Hornets also lead the Big Sky in averaging 16.6 offensive rebounds and 18.3 assists per game, which ranks fifth in the country.

TRACK AND FIELD

The NAU track and field teams will host their second home meet of the season today and Saturday, as six schools descend on the Walkup Skydome for the annual Mountain T's Invitational.

The Lumberjacks have had a two-week break since their home opener, the Lumberjack Invitational on Jan. 14. NAU had 19 athletes qualify for the Big Sky Championships in that meet, a spectacular number considering the team had only been back at altitude for a few days prior to the meet.

Director of track and field and cross country Eric Heins was confident that his athletes would benefit greatly from the two weeks of training, and he is looking forward to his teams' performances this weekend.

"We opened up a week earlier than what we usually do this season, and we had some great efforts all around," Heins said. "There are some athletes to be watching this weekend that didn't compete at the Lumberjack Invite, though."

The Lumberjack teams had success in every area at their first meet, including event victories by Tim Freriks and Rochelle Kanuho in their respective 3,000-meter runs, and Adel al Nasser in the 400-meter dash. They will be looking for those athletes to repeat their successes, while also adding in athletes who sat out the first event of the season.

Middle distance newcomers Agnes Laurent and Caroline Hogardh headline the Lumberjack women competing for the first time. Both will compete in the 800-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay for NAU.

Also appearing for the first time is Belgian native Arnaud Froidmont, who will run the 200-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay for the Lumberjacks. Froidmont is a much-needed addition to the Lumberjacks' long relay team after it lost returner Cody Bell to a season-ending injury earlier this year.

In the throws, seniors Pascal Tang and Nicole Elliott will look to build on solid performances from two weeks ago, where both finished in the top three in the weight throw. Tang is currently tops in the Big Sky Conference with his toss of 59-7 3/4, and Elliott currently holds the conference's second-best mark with her throw of 60-0 1/4.

Multi events (pentathlon, heptathlon) begin at 9:20 a.m. today. Individual field events will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, with running events to follow at 11 a.m.

Editor's Note: The NAU Sports Information Department contributed to this story.