Northern Arizona 74, Weber St. 59

3/11/2006 10:47 PM

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) - Alyssa Wahl scored 19 points and Kim Winkfield had 17 to help Northern Arizona beat Weber State 74-59 on Saturday in the Big Sky tournament title game for its first NCAA women's tournament berth.

``I told her she was the best player on the floor and to go out and play like it,'' Northern Arizona coach Laurie Kelly said of Wahl. ``She did.''

Nicky Eason added 14 points for Northern Arizona (22-10), and Sandra Viksryte had 12.

``All along I felt like this could be our year, Kelly said, ``And, with players like Winkfield and Wahl, I knew we had a good chance.''

Laura Porter and Chelsey Warburton lead Weber State (15-15) with 14 points apiece.

``It was a great experience for us,'' Porter said. ``With so many young players on this team, to make it all the way to the final was a real learning experience. This loss will fuel us in the offseason and help us for next season.''

Northern Arizona led 28-25 at the half, but Weber State rallied to tie it at 32. NAU took the game over after that, outscoring Weber State 31-10 in the next 11 minutes to make it 63-42.

``We're probably going to face a powerhouse,'' Kelly said about the NCAA tournament. ``But we're going to go in and play the best we can and see what happens.''