The Northern Arizona women's basketball team will continue its season after it earned the program's first-ever Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) berth
The Lumberjacks will play in-state rival Arizona in the first round. The Wildcats (19-13, 10-8 Big 12) earned the No. 2 seed and will host the Lumberjacks on Thursday in Tucson at the McKale Center. A time will be announced at a later date.
This is the third straight postseason appearance for the Lumberjacks and the fourth in the last five years. Northern Arizona has made back-to-back WNIT appearances, earning its first berth in program history in 2022-23, when it fell at New Mexico in the first round. In 2023-24, the Lumberjacks earned a first-round bye before falling at South Dakota in the second round. In 2020-21, Northern Arizona secured a third-place finish in the WBI.
Northern Arizona is 26-7 on the year, finishing the regular season second in the Big Sky Conference standings with an overall record of 16-2.聽 The 26 wins are the most in program history, and the Lumberjacks earned their best league finish in school history as well.
Northern Arizona's lone conference losses were to the regular-season and tournament champions, Montana State.
The Lumberjacks and the Wildcats are no strangers. Earlier this season on Nov. 20 at the Rolle Activity Center, the Lumberjacks defeated the Wildcats, 92-75. In that game, Northern Arizona erased a 16-point deficit and snapped a five-game losing streak to the in-state rivals.
All six players who scored had double-digit performances, led by Nyah Moran with 22 points. Saniyah Neverson earned the second double-double of her career with 15 rebounds and 10 points. Leia Beattie added 17 points while Sophie Glancey (17), Taylor Feldman (16) and聽Olivia Moran (10) rounded things out.
This will be the eighth meeting in the last eight seasons between the two, with Arizona winning five of the last six and holding a 30-8 lead in the series.
The Lumberjacks earned the No. 2 seed at the Big Sky championships tournament in Boise, Idaho, this past week where they advanced to their fourth straight conference semifinal. Northern Arizona beat No. 8-seeded Sacramento State, 69-65, in the semifinal before falling to sixth-seeded Montana 71-67. Sophie Glancey was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 22.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in her hometown of Boise.
Glancey, along with teammate Taylor Feldman, earned a unanimous spot on the all-conference first team. Glancey also earned all-defensive team honors, and Nyah Moran landed on the second team. Additionally, Saniyah Neverson was named the Big Sky's Top Reserve of the Year.
The Lumberjacks are led by eighth-year head coach Loree Payne, who became Northern Arizona's all-time winningest coach this season in the sport, sitting at 135-114 during her time at the helm.聽
The first round WBIT matchup will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner will go on to play the winner of Belmont and Middle Tennessee on Sunday, March 23, in the second round.