They didn't start the game out the way they wanted to, but the Northern Arizona women's basketball team found their pace eventually Tuesday night and beat Adams State, 76-50 at the Rolle Activity Center.

The Lumberjacks (2-1 overall) have yet to play a Big Sky Conference opponent, but are finding out there's a lot be excited about this early in the season.

Head coach Laurie Kelly said this year's team is "a different team," but that she can't wait to see what her Lumberjacks can do.

She saw a little bit Tuesday against the Grizzlies (1-1) once the Jacks rebounded from some early trouble and finally started playing the way she thinks they can.

"We were really slow coming out of the gates and I think we played down to the level of our opponent," Kelly said. "We got going on the defensive end, and that sparked our offense."

NAU started the game off getting turnovers and steals, but couldn't finish fast breaks, and the team missed a lot of shots inside the paint.

Once the offense started finding the bottom of the net, however, NAU took off with the lead and never looked back.

"We started off slower than usual, but as a team we really came together and picked it up," senior forward Caty Huntington said. "We fired each other up and that gave us a spark in the game."

Huntington got the offense rolling with a pair of first-half three-pointers, and said it was a nice start to the night to get them early on.

"Without my teammates I wouldn't have gotten my threes," Huntington said, "and then everyone came in and contributed."

NAU finished 7-for-10 from behind the arc, and was pleasantly surprised with the offense that sophomore guard Patricia Gortarez provided. Gortarez -- who entered Tuesday's game with just two points -- had the hot hand in the second half, and finished with 13 points, including a pair of threes and her own eight-point scoring run.

"I felt really in rhythm and my teammates set some really great screens," Gortarez said. "I was able to get some open looks.

"Adams played tough defense, but they started to sit back a little and that gave us some wide-open shots," Gortarez added.

Not only did the Grizzlies get tired after feeling the effects of altitude, but NAU also started to follow its gameplan more closely.

"I think we were playing at a different tempo than we wanted to originally, so we slowed things down and ran what was working for us," Huntington said. "We got into running our plays, and that always helps us get points."

The Jacks' defense was getting burned early on back door plays, but Gortarez said the team backed off some its defensive aggression and that helped contain Adams State's inside players.

"Our post players did a good job of playing over the top, and they got a lot of tips on the ball which led to some steals and fastbreaks," she said.

Kelly added that she was impressed with freshman center Raven Anderson's play in the paint.

"Our inside play was a focus, and Raven Anderson is just a beast inside," she said. "We just need to get her some experience."

While NAU played without a few key players -- junior guard Tyler Stephens-Jenkins was out with a sprained meniscus -- Kelly said other players on the team stepped up and played well in their places.

"We have some great shooters," Kelly said. "When you have Patricia Gortarez and Amy Patton and Caty Huntington and Amanda Frost, people can't play zone on us anymore."

Patton scored 13 points with one from beyond the arc, while Huntington added 11 and Davis scored 10. Frost, a sophomore transfer, had five points, including one three.

"We had a few key players sitting on the bench," Kelly said. "Tyler Stephens-Jenkins is one of the best point guards in the league, but other people picked it up and we didn't have to focus on just one player needing to play well."

The Lumberjacks finished with a 40-32 rebounding edge, something that Huntington said will be one of the Jacks' strengths this year.

"We're going to be a great rebounding team and I don't think we'll ever be beat (on the boards)," she said.

NAU hits the road Friday for a game at South Dakota, and will visit Iowa State on Sunday.

Bill Harris can be reached at bharris@azdailysun.com or 556-2251.