RIVERSIDE, Calif. – NAU sophomore Raven Anderson recorded a double-double with career highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, but the Lumberjacks were limited to just 16 first-half points and shot 25.8 percent for the game in a 71-43 loss to UC Riverside.
After earning a road win on Friday, NAU dropped to 1-7 overall while UC Riverside improved to 5-2.
“They had the same number of shots as we did, and we didn’t do a bad job on the boards, we just couldn’t make any shots,” NAU assistant coach Jamie Shadian said. “We had some opportunities and just couldn't capitalize on them. We’ve been spending a lot of time on our defense so now we need to catch up on our offense.”
Anderson scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half for her first career double-double while recording a team season high in rebounds, with seven of her 14 boards coming on the offensive glass. The Lumberjacks shot below 40 percent from the field for the first time this season and went just 1 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc but did show improvement on the boards, totaling one more offensive rebound than the Highlanders and being outrebounded by just five boards overall.
“Raven got the start and was a really big presence in the paint,” Shadian added. “She was all over the boards and converted on good passes from our guards, so I thought Raven had a nice game.”
NAU senior Amy Patton and UC Riverside senior Tre’Shonti Nottingham entered the game as the top two scorers in the country at more than 23 points per game but were both kept relatively in check Sunday, with Patton totaling 12 points and nine rebounds and Nottingham scoring 13 points. All five Highlanders starters scored in double figures as the home team shot 41.9 percent for the game.
NAU was held to just 16 points on 23 shooting shooting in the first half. The Lumberjacks trailed just 10-9 with 13:08 remaining in the half but made just one field goal over the ensuing seven minutes as UC Riverside used an 18-2 run, including a 13-0 spurt, to build a 28-11 lead. A layup by senior Aubrey Davis with 4:04 to play cut NAU’s deficit to 30-15 but the Lumberjacks scored just one point through the remainder of the half as the Highlanders led 34-16 at the break.
The Highlanders opened the second half on a 10-1 run as NAU was held without a field goal until the 12:49 mark of the second stanza. The UC Riverside lead reached a game-high 30 points at 56-26 with 10:47 to play before NAU erased six points from the deficit to get within a 58-34 margin following a 3-pointer by sophomore Shayla Batson – NAU’s only 3-point make of the game. The Lumberjacks got to a 22 point deficit at 63-41 with 3:25 to play but could get no closer as the score settled at 71-43.
The Lumberjacks will have a 13-day break before hosting Utah Valley on Dec. 15 in their final nonconference game before the start of Big Sky play.
