by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Weber State Athletics
Northern AZ Weber State Recap
The Weber State Wildcats end the regular season on a loss, dropping the final contest to the Northern AZ Lumberjacks 66-57. WSU kept it competitive against one of the conference’s top teams in the return of their star, Daryn Hickok.
The Wildcats (6-24) were set to be the tenth seed in the Big Sky (2-16) no matter the result but showed glimpses of impressive play against a solid Lumberjack roster. With the win, Northern AZ (19-12) finished as the top seed in the conference (13-5) but struggled to put away their last-place opponent.
Team Leaders
The Wildcats ran with a three-headed beast of Jadyn Matthews, Ava Williams, and Hickok. The trio combined for 46 of their 57 total points, taking 41 of Weber State’s 62 attempts from the field. Matthews led WSU with her 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, racking up two assists and three steals in her impressive outing. Williams followed behind with 14 points and four rebounds, and Hickok scored 13 in her return while snagging three boards.
Regan Schneck took over for the Lumberjacks, granting her team the #1 seed in her senior season. Her 20 points were a game-high, grabbing three rebounds and two assists at the Dee Events Center. She shot efficiently, hitting eight of her 15 attempts from the field, but couldn’t get going from three (16.7%). Emily Rodabaugh was a force defensively, securing ten rebounds and three blocks in the effort.
Keeping Pace
Though the result wasn’t what Weber State hoped for – not that it changed their seeding – they played a competitive four quarters against the now top seed in the conference. For a roster that has struggled this season to keep games within reach against any conference opponent, they gave Northern AZ a run for their money. With the game knotted up at 46 headed into the fourth quarter, the offense ran out of steam in crunch time but proved what they are capable of in the final regular season matchup. The highlights of their performance were their abilities to defend three-point shots and limit turnovers.
At home, WSU limited the Lumberjacks to shots from beyond the arch. Northern AZ has had its struggles from range in the past, but the Wildcats nearly eliminated these shots from their game entirely. Weber State also kept the ball out of harm’s way on their end, only turning it over 11 times compared to their average of 15.6 against conference opponents. The Wildcats missed the presence of Hickok and looked more effective on either side in her return.
Room for Improvement
Much of this year’s campaign has been stunted by poor three-point shooting and rebounding for Weber State. They showed these issues again with their two of ten shots from three and losing the rebounding battle. WSU, given their struggles from range, limited their attempts from three, playing damage control to typical inefficiency and shooting better from the field than their season average (35.5%). They also had a better rebounding night despite losing the battle to the Lumberjacks 44-35, showing signs of improvement entering the Big Sky Tournament.
There is still much to improve to survive the tournament as the tenth seed, but the Wildcats showed more potential with a healthier rotation.
What’s to Come
Weber State concluded the regular season, facing the #9 Northern Colorado Bears to kick off the Big Sky Tournament.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Jadyn Matthews, F | 19 | 11 | 2 | 8-16 | 1-3 | 38 |
| Ava Williams, G | 14 | 4 | 0 | 6-15 | 0-0 | 36 |
| Daryn Hickok, F | 13 | 3 | 0 | 4-10 | 0-1 | 31 |
| Aaliyah Ellis, G | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 17 |
| Charlotte Hegvold, G | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 28 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Laura Taylor, G | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 27 |
| Kaiija Lesane, G | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 12 |
| Vicky Parra, F | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 5 |
| Tamalii Fonoti, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Nakilah Johnson, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Emri Lovell, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 3 |
| Team Total | 57 | 35 | 7 | 22-62 | 2-10 |
| Northern AZ Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Regan Schneck, G | 20 | 3 | 2 | 8-15 | 1-6 | 31 |
| Olivia Moran, G | 11 | 2 | 3 | 4-8 | 0-2 | 26 |
| Nyah Moran, G | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4-11 | 2-5 | 33 |
| Emily Rodabaugh, G | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 34 |
| Fatoumata Jaiteh, F | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 12 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Montana Oltrogge, F | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 14 |
| Saniyah Neverson, F | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 14 |
| Taylor Feldman, G | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 14 |
| Sophie Glancey, F | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 15 |
| Marry McMorris, G | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 7 |
| Team Total | 66 | 44 | 9 | 24-59 | 5-21 |