MISSOULA, Mont. â The Northern Arizona women's basketball team trimmed a 22-point halftime deficit to as low as 14 in the second half but ultimately saw their season come to an end in the Big Sky quarterfinals with a 73-57 loss to fourth-seeded Eastern Washington. NAU, which entered at the No. 5 seed and was playing in the Big Sky tournament for the first time in six years, finished the season with a 13-17 record.
"We just needed to play," said NAU coach Sue Darling. "Sometimes you come here, it's your first time, and you're a little nervous. We had a hard time settling in and playing our game. Once we figured out how, we played our game. It was a much different second half than first half and now we know it's one thing to get here, but it's another thing to work your way through this tournament. I credit Raven (Anderson) and Erikka (Banks) for being pioneers. They got this party started for us, and we'll take it from here. Expect us back many times and to have a better performance."
In the final game of her Lumberjack career, Anderson posted her seventh double-double of the season -- 12 points and 12 rebounds -- while also blocking a pair of shots.
NAU trailed 19-11 when the Eagles pulled away with a 21-3 run to take a 40-14 lead. It was 42-20 at the half, as NAU was plagued by 13 turnovers.
The Lumberjacks got as close as 14 points in the second half.
"We decided that this was it, go big or go home literally," Anderson said. "We didn't have anything to lose, so we fought and put it all out there."
Sophomore Brittani Lusain had 12 of her 16 points in the second half for NAU. Tori Lloyd added 11 points.
NAU's 13 wins were the team's highest totals since the 2006-07 season.
"We had hunger from the beginning," Anderson said. "We knew we were picked 10th and we wanted to prove a lot of people wrong. We worked really hard, we played together and it showed. We didn't get exactly where we wanted to be but we're headed in the right direction. I have positive thoughts for NAU in the following years.
"I'm really proud of our team and we accomplished great things this season," Darling added. "When you're trying to turn a program around, it starts with building a culture and I believe we've done that. We've built it on hard work, defense and rebounding. We'll add a couple of new players into the mix and be good to go (next year)."
