Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Arizona
Cats fall to NAU as late comeback is not enough
1/31/2014 4:19:00 AM | Women's Basketball
A second-half comeback fell short at the Dee Events Center Thursdasy night as the Weber State women's basketball team fell to Northern Arizona, 96-87.
An old-fashioned three-point play with just over a minute left by NAU forward Brittani Lusain was the final nail in the Wildcat coffin. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 20 points with just under ten minutes to go in the game before cutting the lead to six points with just under two minutes to go.
Senior forward Amanda Hughes led the Wildcats with 19 points in the game. Weber State had four players in double figures. Sophomore guard Desiree Ramos had 18 while sophomore forward Regina Okoye and sophomore center Jalen Carpenter added 13 each.
Two Lumberjacks had 21 points to lead all scorers. The Big Sky's leading scorer Amanda Frost got to 21 before fouling out with just under ten minutes to go. Lusain was the other Lumberjack with 21, Meanwhile Erikka Banks, Raven Anderson, Rene Coggins and Avonna Lee all had 11 points each for NAU.
The Wildcats led by as many as eight points with seven minutes to go in the first half before the Lumberjacks made a 12-0 run to eventually take a two-point lead into halftime at 44-42.
Behind Frost's hot hand in the early part of the second half, NAU went on a 16-3 run to push ahead for good.
“You just can't go back and forth with this team,” head coach Bethann Ord said. “We just couldn't get the stop we needed late.”
Weber State made a furious rally late, but couldn't make the stop they needed to complete the comeback.
“When a team goes through something like this, they usually split apart, but this team hasn't and they won't,” Ord said.
The Cats will take on Sacramento State on Saturday at the Dee Events Center at 2 p.m.
