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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball is out west this week, taking on two Arizona teams. The Blackbirds faced off against Grand Canyon, Saturday, December 28th, in Phoenix, and will now head north to Flagstaff, where they will take on Northern Arizona, Monday, December 30 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The games are a part of a month-long road swing, that has included games in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and now Arizona. In January, LIU will play road games at Wagner and Mount St. Mary's, before taking on St. Francis Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, January 11. The next time LIU plays at home in the Steinberg Center will be January 13, 2014, against Central Connecticut State.
The Blackbirds staged a strong second half rally against a nationally-ranked Grand Canyon team Saturday afternoon, but despite closing a 20-point gap to just five points with two minutes left to play, LIU could not manage to take the win from the Antelopes, and dropped their ninth game of the year, 72-63.
Senior Cleandra Roberts led the Blackbirds once again, setting a new career high with 24 points, along with seven rebounds. Senior Fanny Cavallo also had a new career-high, with 14 points and a season-high eight rebounds. Junior Letava Whippy had eight points and four assists, while sophomore Sophie Bhasin added eight points and four rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• This is the first time that LIU Brooklyn and Northern Arizona will meet in women's basketball.
SCOUTING the LUMBERJACKS
• Northern Arizona is 3-5 overall this season, playing in the Big Sky Conference. The Lumberjacks have suffered losses at the hands of Hawai'i (74-66), UTEP (92-43), Loyola Marymount (79-58), and most recently, back-to-back losses in California, to Cal State Northridge (64-52) and Pepperdine (74-51). Wins have come over Utah Valley, UC Santa Barbara and UT Arlington.
• The Northern Arizona squad is a new one, with only one starter returning, and only three letterwinners. 10 newcomers have been added to the Lumberjack roster, including eight freshmen.
• Senior guard Amanda Frost leads NAU, with 18.9 points per game this season, second in the Big Sky conference. She led the Lumberjacks against Pepperdine with 25 points, her fourth 20-point performance of the season, putting down five treys for the second consecutive game. She also had a career-high 30 points against Utah Valley, and has scored in double-digits in every game this year.
• Junior forward Erikka Banks is next on the team with 11.8 points per game, and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game. The 8.9 rebounds per game ranks her second in the Big Sky. She is also shooting 80.4 percent from the free throw line.
• NAU has registered double-digit steals in three of the last four games. Three players rank in the top-10 in the conference in steals with senior Amanda Frost leading the way, tied for second at 2.8 steals per game. The Lumberjacks are forcing an average of 18.8 turnovers per contest.