Northern Arizona and potential conference MVP Sophie Glancey overcame EWU point guard Peyton Howard’s scoring outburst to win 88-77 on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Despite Howard’s 30 points, tied for the second-largest single-game point total in the Big Sky conference this season, the Lumberjacks completed a second-half comeback to secure the victory.
NAU entered Saturday’s game as the second-ranked team in the conference and jumped out to an early lead. In less than three minutes, the Lumberjacks built a 9-2 lead. Led by 9 first-quarter points from senior guard Olivia Moran, NAU led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter. Moran shares the backcourt with her twin sister, Nyah Moran.
However, with 4 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Eagles went on a 16-4 run to close out the quarter. The run was started with two free throws from Howard to cut the NAU lead to 29-25. She scored 10 points during the stretch, including two three-point shots.
Freshman guard Emily McElmurray scored 5 points during the run. She competed for the EWU women’s team in the three-point contest during Eastern Washington’s preseason MadNest, and she made one three-pointer during the game. She has made 5 of her 13 three-point attempts this season.
The run gave the Eagles a 40-33 halftime lead over Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks have not lost a game this season where they led at halftime, including their Jan. 23 game against EWU, where they held a 35-34 lead at halftime before winning 75-63.
Although Eastern Washington controlled the halftime lead in this game, the second half was similar to the two teams’ previous matchup. The Lumberjacks dominated the third quarter 34-18, behind 6 three-pointers.
NAU’s junior forward Sophie Glancey and senior guard Nyah Moran filled up the scoreboard in the third quarter. Glancey, the Preseason Big-Sky MVP, scored 14 of her 25 points. She also had 12 rebounds and 6 blocks. She is first in the Big Sky conference in points per game and blocks per game, and fourth in rebounds per game.
Nyah Moran scored 12 of her 15 total points and made two three-pointers. In total, she and her twin sister combined to score 29 points with four made three-point shots.
After winning the third quarter as well, Northern Arizona combined to win the second half 55-37, enough to win the game. The Lumberjacks are now 14-2 in conference games.
Although they lost, the Eagles’ 77 points was their fifth-best total of the season. Howard’s 30 points were a career-high. She is now ranked fourth in the conference with 14.6 points per game.
Junior guard Ella Gallatin scored 12 points and had 6 rebounds. She has been both the team’s third-highest scorer and rebounder this season with 9.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Kourtney Grossman, the freshman small forward, scored 8 points and led the team with 8 rebounds. She is first in the Big Sky with 10.2 rebounds per game.
Eastern Washington is now 6-9 in conference games and 10-17 overall. They are in seventh place in the conference. EWU has three games remaining in the regular season to move up the standings before the conference tournament begins on March 8.
