Boise Native Is Among Big Sky’s Best

BY DAVE SOUTHORN

Uprooting from her hometown of Boise, heading south and up to nearly 7,000 feet of elevation, Sophie Glancey took a chance when she enrolled at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Less than three years later, it’s a pretty nice view—and not just from the nearby San Francisco Peaks.

Through a school-record 12-4 start, the 6-foot-2 junior forward has the Lumberjacks atop the Big Sky Conference standings while also leading the conference herself in scoring.

“I feel like I can say I made a good decision,” Glancey said with a laugh.

A 2022 graduate of Timberline High School, Glancey averaged 17.4 points per game during NAU’s outstanding start along with 9.1 rebounds per game, second-best in the Big Sky.

Glancey made a strong impression as a freshman, but once she moved into a full-time starting role as a sophomore, she blossomed, earning first-team all-Big Sky honors.

In a college basketball world that sees rosters turn over regularly, the Lumberjacks have taken advantage of Glancey’s return and lost only two regular contributors from 2023-24. Glancey is one of three Lumberjacks in the top ten in the Big Sky in scoring.

“The fact we’ve returned almost everyone, that’s allowed us to have such a great start,” Glancey said. “That’s made it so much easier to pick up where we left off, we’re lucky to be so experienced. It’s fun because it’s not just one person who can lead us, it can be anyone on any given night.”

Among those returners was fellow junior Audrey Taylor, a guard. Taylor is also a Timberline graduate. She’s been a key bench contributor, averaging ten minutes per game.

“Audrey’s dad coached my first basketball team—she played soccer and my dad coached her,” Glancey said. “When we both got serious about basketball, she would join a team, then I would join it the next. She hadn’t told me that she committed before I did, so when I said I was going to NAU, she told me that she was too. We didn’t want to influence the other’s decision!”

“I think, especially freshman year, college is hard—new place and everything—it was super helpful having her there,” she said. “I knew I could rely on her and it’s been really special being on the same team here.”

Come March, the duo hopes to have an even more incredible experience— winning the Big Sky Women’s Basketball Championship in their hometown. The event takes place March 8-12 at the Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise, with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness.

Northern Arizona has made it to the Big Sky Championship game the last three years, but has finished as runner-up all three times.

Behind Glancey, who is performing at Player of the Year levels, the Lumberjacks have a great shot to earn just the second NCAA berth in school history.

Not that Glancey is looking ahead— but it’s certainly something driving her and her team.

“It’s just the worst feeling, coming so close,” Glancey said. “There’s a balance— you focus on what is in front of you, but you know you’re working toward that tournament. I think we’re doing that, focusing on the little things every single day so they’re natural to us in March. So far, everyone’s locked into the adjustment they have to make and it’s been really fun to be a part of it.”