GRAND FORKS, N.D. – NAU senior center Aubrey Davis had a double-double with a career-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks and senior Amy Patton totaled 23 points and eight rebounds Saturday, but it wasn't enough in the Lumberjacks' 70-50 loss to North Dakota. UND used a 21-2 run during the first half to build an insurmountable 24-point halftime lead.
“When we play hard and play together, we are capable of beating anybody,” NAU head coach Sue Darling said after the game.
Davis (8 for 14) and Patton (9 for 18) both shot the ball well while tallying 41 of the team’s 50 points, but the rest of the Lumberjacks went 3 for 28 in the game. North Dakota held a .381-.333 advantage in field-goal percentage for the game and outscored NAU 17-6 at the free-throw line. The home team also had a 47-40 advantage in rebounding, including 18 offensive boards.
Northern Arizona (4-14, 3-6 Big Sky) held an early 7-5 lead and trailed by just one point at 10-9 after a Patton jumper at the 12:59 mark of the opening half. The Lumberjacks would make just one field goal over the ensuing seven and a half minutes as North Dakota (8-11, 3-7 Big Sky) went 8 for 13 with five offensive rebounds during the stretch and totaled a 21-2 run to take a 31-11 lead. After a Patton jumper at the 5:30 mark ended the run, North Dakota went on to outscore NAU 10-4 through the remainder of the half to take a 41-17 halftime lead.
After being outrebounded 29-15 in the first half -- with North Dakota totaling 12 offensive rebounds -- NAU did a much better job on the glass in the second half in which it had a 27-18 rebounding edge. The Lumberjacks also shot the ball at 40.0 percent in the second half and held UND to 30.8 percent shooting after the intermission, preventing the home team from scoring through the first 3:49 of the second period.
The Lumberjacks brought their deficit down to 15 points at 50-35 following a Patton 3-pointer at the 11:19 mark of the second half, but NAU then went scoreless for nearly four minutes as North Dakota built back to a 19-point lead. UND’s lead moved back to a game-high 24 points with 2:29 to play and again with 1:17 remaining before NAU ended the game on a 5-1 run.
Patton hit four 3-pointers in the contest and added two assists and a steal while recording her eighth 20-point game of the season. Her 23 points brought her career scoring total to 1,792 points and moved her past former Idaho player Mary Raese into sixth in Big Sky history in career scoring. Davis surpassed her previous career high of 15 points, set at Portland State last season, while tallying her third double-double of the season.
NAU will finish the first half of conference play next Thursday at Sacramento State.
