Wildcats give Lumberjacks the ax, advance to title game

Missoula, Mt. — The Weber State Wildcats escaped with a 68-63 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Friday in the semifinals of the Big Sky Championship. The win moves Weber State into today's Big Sky Championship game.

The Wildcats jumped to an early lead and held a 17-12 lead with 10:41 left in the first half after a Chelsey Warburton 3-pointer. Weber State led 33-27 led at the break, paced by Brooke Hansen's 10 points and seven rebounds .

In the second half, Northern Arizona made some runs and took the lead for the first time at 47-45 with 9:16 to play. The game was tied six times in the last 10 minutes, but the Wildcats finally took over late in the game. Holding a 60-58 lead, Julie Laura Porter made a 3-pointer to seal the win with 49 seconds left.

Hansen sparked the Wildcats, scoring a season-high 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. It was her third double-double of the season. Becky O'Neil led the Wildcats 23 points, and Julie Gjertsen added eight points.

"We were able to hang in down the stretch," said Weber State coach Carla Taylor. "I give Northern Arizona a lot of credit. They are a solid team. We made some big plays when it mattered late in the game."

The win moves the Wildcats into the Big Sky Championship game for the third time in the last four years. The 'Cats will take on the winner of the Idaho State-Montana semifinal game. The finals will be played at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports and heard on KWCR 88.1 FM.