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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Sophomore Sophie Bhasin's career-high 26 points led the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team in its highest scoring output of the season, as the Blackbirds beat Northern Arizona, 78-72 in the Walkup Skydome in the final game of the 2013 calendar year. Senior Cleandra Roberts had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Aleisha Myers tied her career high with 13 points.

The Blackbirds got off to a slow start in the game, as the Lumberjacks opened the game with an 8-0 run. Junior Kelly Robinson got LIU on the board at the 17-minute mark with a layup, 8-2. From there, the offense slowly started to show up. Bhasin was fouled on consecutive possessions, and made all four free throws, to close the lead to 12-8 at 13:30. After her fourth free throw, Roberts had a steal on NAU's inbounds play, and converted the layup to make it 12-10 just 20 seconds later. The Blackbirds had seven steals in the first half, and scored 14 points off of Lumberjack turnovers.

Freshman Aleisha Myers sparked the LIU offense, which then caught fire. Myers lit up the NAU defense, scoring 11 straight points. She closed the gap with a traditional three-point play at 11:32, and drained a three at 10:15 to tie the score at 18-18. She then made another three to tie the score at 21, and was fouled on a layup, making both free throws to tie it up at 23-23 with 8:34 left to play.

Myers' run got the LIU offense started, and they would not stop. The Blackbirds would outscore the Lumberjacks, 23-10 for the remainder of the half. That stretch included a 12-0 run for the Blackbirds, as the defense held NAU scoreless for five and a half minutes.

LIU took the lead for the first time at 5:40, when freshman Mercedes Harris made her first collegiate basket on a layup and was fouled. She made the free throw to give the Blackbirds a 28-25 lead.

The buckets didn't stop there. Bhasin had a three pointer at 3:07, freshman Demi Tomlinson made two free throws, and Roberts scored four points in the final three minutes, including a layup with 13 seconds left in the half, giving LIU the 37-28 lead heading into the break.
Defense was a key for the Blackbirds in the first half, as they held NAU's leading scorer, Amanda Frost, to just two points. But coming out of the half, Frost played angry. She scored seven of her 20 second-half points in the first five minutes of play. The Blackbirds were able to answer every time, as Roberts drained three straight layups for six points, keeping LIU up, 49-37.

But the Lumberjacks, led by Frost, were not done. Northern Arizona went on a 16-4 run that lasted five minutes. The run included eight points from Frost, who used a layup at 11:23 to tie it up at 51-51. The Blackbirds retook the lead a minute later on a jumper from Roberts, 55-53, but NAU wasn't done. The Lumberjacks would take the lead once more, and tie it up on a layup from Frost, 63-63 at 4:14. But the next two times down the court, Bhasin couldn't miss. She hit a jumper from the top of the key and then drained an NBA-range three pointer with a guard in her face, putting the Blackbirds up, 68-63. Northern Arizona called a timeout, but the momentum was firmly on LIU's side of the court.

The Lumberjacks made a run in the final minutes of play, when a free throw by Frost cut the lead to two points, 74-72 with 30 seconds left. LIU went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 19 seconds of play to seal the win.

The 78 points is the highest point total for LIU this season so far, as the Blackbirds shot 47.4 percent from the field, including a 51.7 percent total in the second half.

With the win, LIU Brooklyn is now 2-9 on the season. Up next, the Blackbirds begin the Northeast Conference season, traveling to Staten Island to take on Wagner, Saturday, January 4 at 3 p.m.