MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho women's basketball team fought back from down 15 in the second quarter to Northern Arizona, only to have it stolen away. The Lumberjacks outscored Idaho 25-14 in the final quarter, on their way to a 76-61 win.

Wednesday's loss was softened by Eastern Washington and Idaho State both losing their respective games. Idaho remains tied with Idaho State at 10-7 in the Big Sky, while Eastern Washington has a one game lead at 11-6 with one game left to play before next week's Big Sky Tournament. Idaho can still clinch the No. 4 seed in the tournament with a win on Friday combined with losses from Idaho State and EWU. 

How it Happened
Mikayla Ferenz began the night with Idaho's first two baskets, but would struggle the remainder of the evening. A Brigitte O'Neill layup handed Idaho a brief 8-6 lead. Northern Arizona used Idaho's early turnovers to go up 11-8. A pair of Karlee Wilson free throws cut the NAU led to 11-10 at the media break. Idaho struggled the remainder of the quarter, finishing 0-for-9 from the field. NAU scored seven straight points to close the quarter up 18-10.

Northern Arizona (9-19, 5-12 BSC) got out to a 15-point lead, 31-16, before the Vandal offense kicked in. Idaho started 0-for-10 from 3-point range. Ferenz knocked down Idaho's first triple with 4:38 to play in the second, cutting the NAU lead to 31-20. Idaho put together a 7-0 run that brought the Vandals to within seven, 31-24. A Raina Perez jumper pushed the NAU lead back to 10 inside the final two minutes of the half. Geraldine McCorkell hit Idaho's second 3 of the game to close half down by seven, 36-29.

The Vandals were just 2-for-13 from long distance in the first half, getting outscored 24-6 from behind the arch.

Idaho (15-13, 10-7 BSC) brought NAU lead down to two in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Brooke Reilly scored 12 of her season-high 23 points --including nine straight to cut the NAU lead to, 43-41. Sophomore Brigitte O'Neill completed the Idaho comeback with a 3-pointer, putting Idaho up 44-43 at the 3:45 mark. The 'Jacks closed the quarter on a 6-0 streak, regaining a 51-47 lead.

3's by seniors Agueda Trujillo and Wilson kept the Vandals within three points in the early moments of the fourth. A 6-0 run from Northern Arizona took the wind out of Idaho's sails, gaining a nine-point advantage with 6:11 to go. Perez put NAU back up by double digits, 67-57, with her fourth 3 of the night. Idaho, forced into a fouling situation late, got down by as many as 17-points, 75-58, before the final whistle.  

Reilly was Idaho's offensive threat on the night. She led the team with 23 points and eight rebounds. Wilson was 5-of-9 from the field for 14 points. She also added rebounds and five assists to her line. Ferenz hit two 3's on the night helping her 11 points, rounding out the offensive leaders.

Perez closed the night with a career-high 26 points. Rene Coggins put in 19 and Catelyn Preston added 10 for NAU.  

Keys
Turnovers: Idaho uncharacteristically turned the ball over throughout the night. The Vandals began the game with the least turnovers per game (13.1) in the Big Sky. Idaho handed the ball back to NAU 18 times. The trend began early on, with Idaho committing five turnovers in the first quarter, leading to seven NAU points. Idaho was being outscored 11-2 in points off turnovers in the first half. The Lumberjacks finished the game with 26 points off turnovers.

Slow Offensive Start: Idaho matched its second lowest scoring first quarter of the season, totaling just 10 points. The Vandals were outscored 12-0 from 3-point distance in the first 10 minutes. Both teams finished with 10 3-pointers apiece, but the damage was done early on.

Notes
Idaho now has 289 straight games with a 3-pointer…Idaho attempted a season-low seven free throws…Perez's 26 points were the second most by an individual opponent this season…Idaho dropped to 6-4 at home on the season…second career 20 point performance from Reilly (career-high 27 vs Sac State, 1/15/15)…Pierce 14 game 3-point streak comes to an end, she's sits sixth in school history with 159…Ferenz now has 155 career 3's, seventh all-time…McCorkell now has 945 career points.

Quotes
Head Coach Jon Newlee
Overall thoughts from the game
"I thought we had a really good third quarter. I thought we played well in the second quarter. We got off to a bad start defensively. Our effort and intensity was not where it needed to be. We got in the whole but battled back. I thought when we took the lead in the second half I thought we might control the game from there on out. Obviously, that did not happen."

On Brooke Reilly
"Brooke had a great game from an offensive standpoint. She did a good job of knocking down shots. She looked really comfortable out there. It is good to see her play with that kind of confidence. I think she has that kind of talent."

On Idaho's turnovers
"We turned the ball over like crazy. We turned the ball over 18 times that leads to 26 points for them. That was an absolute killer tonight. We were just careless and lazy with the basketball. That certainly was our Achilles heel tonight."

Junior Brooke Reilly
On her overall performance
"I think I came out with a lot more confidence thanks to my coaches. They have always been pushing me, telling me to take my open shot and not to pass it up. Mikey [Mikayla Ferenz] had three people on her all night. So she was kicking it out to me and Karlee [Wilson]. We were finally making our shots."

Senior Karlee Wilson
On Friday being her final home game
"I think there is a lot of emotion to it. I think dropping this one tonight, we are going to come out even hungrier for a win. It is Senior Night, but since we dropped a tough one tonight we want to come out with a lot of energy on Friday."

On feeling heading into the postseason
"We are really confident. We may not have played our best tonight, but we are really confident and looking forward to the tournament."

Upcoming
Friday's game will close out the regular season. It will be Wilson and Trujillo's final home game of their careers. Idaho will have a special pre-game ceremony to honor the seniors. Southern Utah edged out EWU on Wednesday, 64-63.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also follow Idaho women's basketball on Twitter, @VandalsWBB.

Be sure to get your Big Sky Tournament tickets by visiting GoVandals.com/tickets.