FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Jan. 13 – It was a tale of two halves as Southern Utah (8-5, 2-2 BSC) watched an 18-point halftime advantage disappear before taking an 82-77 loss to Northern Arizona (4-9, 1-3) on Monday. The Lumberjacks mounted a wild rally in the opening minutes of the second half behind 34 points from senior Amanda Frost to upend the T-Birds.
The Thunderbirds knocked down their first three shots of the game, but Frost scored seven points in the first three minutes to help NAU grab a quick 9-7 edge. SUU came back to go up by two on a lay-in by Brenna Gates before eight straight points for the Lumberjacks put the home team up 20-14.
Hailey Mandelko knocked down a three and Lori Parkinson added a couple of layups as Southern Utah used a 13-6 rally to take a 27-26 lead. Mandelko kept things going with two more from the outside and Marquelle Funk added another 3-pointer to push the margin to 39-29. The Thunderbird defense held the 'Jacks scoreless for nearly five minutes in the closing minutes of the half to close out the period on a 22-5 run and go into the locker room up 49-31.
Southern Utah shot over 57 percent to start the game, including going 8-12 from the 3-point line. The Thunderbirds recorded 16 assists in the first half and committed just seven turnovers.
Northern Arizona erased the deficit by starting the second half with a 25-8 run to pull back within one. Frost went 3-3 from the outside during the rally, capping things off with a breakaway layup to make the score 57-56.
The Lumberjacks took the lead on a basket by Erikka Banks halfway halfway through the period, and pushed the advantage to 63-57 on another layup for Frost. Maylinn Smith and Parkinson came up with two straight scores to narrow the gap to two, but NAU responded with a 9-2 outburst to go up 74-65 with 2:39 remaining.
SUU was able to pull back within three in the final moments, but the Lumberjacks held on to take the 82-77 victory.
Northern Arizona outscored Southern Utah by a count of 51-28 in the second half while shooting over 60 percent from the field down the stretch. Frost put up 25 points in the final 20 minutes to record a game-high 34. The Lumberjacks went 9-17 from the 3-point line and 17-19 on free throw attempts. The Thunderbirds held a 36-30 rebounding edge, which resulted in an 18-2 lead in second chance points. Parkinson, Mandelko, Funk and Andrea Jones all scored in double-figures, with Parkinson leading the way for SUU with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The T-Birds now return home to host their first Big Sky games of the season as Weber State comes to town on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. followed by an afternoon meeting with Idaho State on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Complete coverage of SUU basketball is available online at www.suutbirds.com.
