by Cody Bashore, NAU Athletic Communications
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 11, 2021) – Two days after the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks pulled away from the Grand Canyon Lopes with a dominant second quarter, Saturday afternoon’s game followed a similar blueprint.
However, it was the California Baptist Lancers pulling away from the Lumberjacks after a tight first quarter that ended in a tie at 19. With the Lancers (6-2) leading by three with 7:10 left before halftime, the Lumberjacks (4-4) struggled to contain California Baptist’s outside shooting and found themselves down by 16 just four minutes later.
The 13-0 run by the Lancers put the Lumberjacks behind by double-digits, and Northern Arizona’s 11-game home win streak came to an end with an 89-73 loss to California Baptist.
Trinity San Antonio doubled the CBU lead with a three-pointer, followed by layups for Ane Olaeta and Dorcas Wu to make it a 33-23 advantage. A three by Wu and the third of the run by Brittany Klaman put the Lancers ahead by 16, with the Lumberjacks only coming as close as 15 for the rest of the night.
Four free throws by the Lumberjacks, coupled with holding the Lancers scoreless for the final two minutes of the quarter, left the team trailing 45-30 at the break.
While the sides effectively traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the third quarter, CBU used a quick five straight points in less than a minute to push its lead past 20. A pair of runs by the Lumberjacks, first seven points and then eight, cut the lead back to 16, but just 1:43 remained on the clock and the sides played even for the remainder of the game.
Northern Arizona struggled to shoot inside the three-point line, connecting on just 37.7 percent from inside the arc. With their free-throw shooting also off, at just 57.1 percent, the Lumberjacks pushed the Lancers at times with their three-point shooting.
Led by a returning JJ Nakai (Navajo) and her 3-of-5 from outside, Northern Arizona hit 7-of-15 total. All three of Nakai’s makes came in the fourth quarter as the senior finished with a team-high 13 points.
Teionni McDaniel followed with 11, as her energy late led to three consecutive layups and during Northern Arizona’s 8-0 run. Nina Radford also reached double-figures with 10 points while Regan Schenck approached a triple-double at nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
A balanced attack by CBU led to six players reaching double-digits and no player breaking past 25 minutes played. Caitlyn Harper led with 17 points, followed by Olaeta’s 13 along with seven assists.
