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Women’s basketball team towers over San Jose 77-66
I-D-A-H-O Idaho, Idaho, Go-Go-Go!
The sound of a dribbling ball could not be heard over the roar of the Vandal fight song on Saturday night. The Cowan Spectrum was alive with the feel of victory.
As the final 17 seconds ticked by, Charlotte Otero stood uncontested in the backcourt, dribbling the seconds off the clock.
Uncontested is what much of what Saturday’s game turned out to be. The University of Idaho women’s basketball team’s seemingly impenetrable defense and hot shots gave the San Jose State Spartans a run for their money. The Vandals ended the game 77-66.
The Vandals were ahead the entire first half and the only time the Spartans managed to tie the score, senior Lindsey Koppen’s five-point streak pushed the Vandals back into the lead and they never looked back.
The half ended with the Vandal women ahead by eight. The 39-31 score was the Vandals’ season-high halftime score and their 52 percent shooting average was their best this season. The Vandals also had a 22-14 rebounding edge over the Spartans.
“When you’re aggressive you shoot well and when you’re tentative, you don’t,” Idaho coach Mike Divilbiss said. “We were really aggressive tonight.”
Since Divilbiss’ coaching debut in the 2001-02 season, he has gone 6-1 in season finale wins. His only loss during senior night was in his first season with the Vandals.
The second half of the game was just as successful for the Vandals. The Spartans first and only lead came at 18:33 in the second half. A quick shot from freshman Rachele Kloke secured the lead for the Vandals once again and it was uphill from there.
Kloke had the second-highest total points of her career on Saturday with 13. She also had a career-high two blocks. Otero also cashed in with 10 points and three assists for the Vandals.
Sophomore Katie Madison had a record-breaking night with a team season-high 28 points and eight rebounds.
“I wanted to do it for my seniors because I am real close with a lot of them,” Madison said. “It was good, we needed it. We’ve been kind of in a rut for a long time.”
With the end of the game drawing near, the Vandals sat in a 75-66 lead over San Jose State. With 37 seconds left, Madison scored a lay-up on a fast break, and the crowd erupted.
The 77-66 victory was the season’s highest score for
the Vandals.
The Vandals ended the game with a 45 percent overall field-goal percentage, topping the Spartans by two percent. Saturday night was the women’s second best shooting performance of the season.
With the win on senior night, the Vandals brought their record to 3-24 overall and 2-12 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Spartans’ record slipped to 2-26 on the season and 1-14 in the WAC.
“I’m really happy for those kids,” Divilbiss said. “They’ve worked really hard and it would have been so easy for them to check it in a long time ago, but they didn’t.”
Brittany Powell was San Jose State’s leading-scorer with 17 points and eight rebounds. Powell was closely followed by Natalie White who scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds. Myosha Barnes also scored 10 points and had
three assists.
The Vandals are headed to Logan, Utah for their last regular season game against the Utah State Aggies at 6 p.m. on Saturday, before heading to Las Cruces, N.M. for the WAC Tournament March 11-15.
“You just never know,” Divilbiss said. “Once you get to the tournament you never know, you just go play.”
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