by TUBA CITY, Ariz. – In front of a crowd of 793 at Tuba City High School, the Northern Arizona women’s basketball team dazzled Monday night. Six players scored in double-figures in a show-stopping 104-49 victory over Antelope Valley, as the Lumberjacks improved to 2-3 with their second consecutive win.
“It was an awesome atmosphere here tonight and to have a team win like this, it’s a very important piece towards putting this puzzle together,” said head coach Loree Payne. “Antelope Valley is a very good team who has played some big teams close, even some conference opponents, and we did not underestimate them at all. That shows maturity by our young team and that mentality was important.”
All 11 active players who got in the game scored, led by redshirt senior Kenna McDavis and junior Kaleigh Paplow, who each scored 16 points. Redshirt senior Olivia Lucero (14), freshman Khiarica Rasheed (13), junior Tate Tsingine (10) and freshman Lauren Orndoff (10) rounded all NAU’s double-digit scorers. For Rasheed, Tsingine and Orndoff, Monday marked their first career double-digit scoring games.
The night was a special one for both Tsingine and senior Chelena Betoney, as the pair excelled in the game played on the Navajo Nation. In addition to her 10 points, Tsingine recorded two rebounds, three assists and the team’s lone steal in her return to her old high school gym. Betoney drained the Lumberjacks’ final points of the game on a three-pointer from straightaway and also tallied three assists.
The ‘Jacks handled the Pioneers on the glass, doubling up Antelope Valley, 70-35, in the rebound column. The 70 rebounds were the third-highest single-game total in school history, and most since 1982. NAU had four-players record 10 or more boards with McDavis and Rasheed securing a game-high 13 each in double-double efforts. Paplow grabbed 11 boards to notch a double-double herself, while redshirt freshman Brianna Lehew pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds.
“We knew, most likely, that everyone was going to get minutes tonight,” Payne said. “I’m super proud of Tate because she stepped up to the challenge of coming home. Chelena played well in the minutes she had. Khiarica getting a double-double and Brianna almost getting one herself, those are numbers they’re capable of putting up. Games like this will give them the confidence to go out and perform next week and moving forward.”
Antelope Valley’s only lead of the game was short-lived at 2-0 as Lucero knocked down a triple on the following possession to start a 12-1 NAU run. By the time the Pioneers connected on a field goal again, the Lumberjack lead was already up to 25-9 with seven and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Antelope Valley went nearly 12 minutes without a made field goal and its 1-for-17 start from the field did the Pioneers no favors. In the meantime, McDavis, Paplow and Lucero all hit double-figures by halftime as the Lumberjacks took a 48-19 lead into the locker room.
The NAU advantage grew to 47 points (75-28) by the end of the third quarter and it hit 50 following back-to-back layups by Lucero and Lehew with eight minutes remaining in the game. An Orndoff free throw with 2:05 left put the Lumberjacks at 100 points and Betoney’s first career points with under a minute to go gave NAU its largest lead of the game of 57 points.
NAU’s 104 points are the second-most in school history, trailing only the 109 points the Lumberjacks scored against this very same Antelope Valley team last year.
The Lumberjacks shot 50 percent from the field overall, including 57.1 percent in the second half, while the Pioneers only converted on 22.1 percent of their attempts. Antelope Valley did force NAU into 15 turnovers, but only five came after halftime.
NAU’s 46 points in the paint, 24 second chance points and 42 bench points were all season-bests.
The Lumberjacks look to even their season record when they travel to Denver for a Sunday afternoon tilt at 1 p.m. before returning home for the start of a three-game homestand.
