Patton leads NAU women to win over Montana

By foxsports
Published

Box score

FLAGSTAFF --

Sophomore Amy Patton hit two free throws with 3 seconds on the clock Thursday night to secure the Lumberjacks' 64-60 win over Montana, their first victory against the Grizzlies since the 2006-07 season.

NAU held a comfortable lead until about three minutes remained in the game, when Montana made a short run to cut the NAU lead to a single
possession with just over a minute left



The Lumberjacks worked the clock down to 20 seconds before senior Jenna
Galloway hit a turnaround jumper to put NAU up by five. With seven
seconds remaining, Montana's Stephanie Stender converted a 3-pointer, forcing the Lumberjacks to seal the game on the free-throw line.
Patton hit both free throws to put NAU up for good at 64-60.

With the win, NAU (7-9, 2-1 Big Sky) improved to 6-3 at the Rolle Activity Center this season.

The game was close throughout the first half with eight ties and nine lead changes.  Montana (6-10, 1-2 Big Sky) took a 29-28 lead into the half.

"The adjustments we made at halftime really made a difference," said NAU coach Laurie Kelly. "We cut down on the turnovers and played better overall."

Neither team managed to take control of the game until the 9-minute mark, when Patton and sophomore Tyler Stephens-Jenkins put up back-to-back 3-point plays to stretch the NAU lead to nine.  Patton hit one of her four 3-pointers while Stephens-Jenkins slashed through the lane and hit a layup along with the ensuing free-throw attempt.

Patton finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. She was 4 for 8 from behind the arc and made 6 of her 9 free-throw attempts. Stephens-Jenkins finished with 10 points and was the only other Lumberjack in double figures.