The University of Idaho Argonaut

Idaho’s Bianca Cheever drives hard past Utah State’s Amber White during the basketball game, Jan. 27. The Vandals will take on the Fresno State Bulldogs in Fresno Wednesday. File Photo by Ilya Pinchuk/Argonaut

The Bulldogs come into Wednesday night’s game against Idaho riding an 11-game winning streak. The Bulldogs’ last loss came on Jan. 30 to Stanford, in a lopsided 68-44 decision.

In contrast, Idaho enters the game with only one win in the last four games, but despite the record the Vandals look ready to start a winning streak of their own. Newlee said the team is playing its best basketball of the season, and the losses came not from a lack of effort on the Vandals’ part.

Ilya Pinchuk - Argonaut

The Bulldogs come into Wednesday night’s game against Idaho riding an 11-game winning streak. The Bulldogs’ last loss came on Jan. 30 to Stanford, in a lopsided 68-44 decision.

In contrast, Idaho enters the game with only one win in the last four games, but despite the record the Vandals look ready to start a winning streak of their own. Newlee said the team is playing its best basketball of the season, and the losses came not from a lack of effort on the Vandals’ part.

“All year, that ball has been hanging on the rim and coming off,” Newlee said, referencing the team’s ability to hang in with the best in the WAC but never getting the breaks and closing out games. Idaho’s past three losses were decided by single digits, and in every game Idaho had a chance to put the game away but failed to do so.

Idaho’s trio scoring threat of Rachele Kloke, Yinka Olorunnife and Shaena Kuehu look to continue their scoring ways, while freshman Kanisha Bello continues to impress with strong play on both sides of the ball, which has earned her an increase in minutes in the past four games. Bello made her first start for Idaho against LA Tech, and Newlee said he was impressed with the impact she had on
the team.

“She is a talented kid and she can play,” Newlee said. “She plays with no fear — she has done a great job in the last couple of games.”
The Bulldogs are loaded on offense, but Idaho’s biggest concern will be stopping junior Jaleesa Ross, who leads both Fresno State and the WAC with an average of 19 points per game. In addition, the speedy 5-foot-8 guard leads the WAC in steals per game. Idaho’s top priority will be shutting down Ross, while at the same time keeping Fresno State’s secondary scoring in check.

“We are winning games by playing good defense,” Newlee said. “We are not going to go there and get in a shootout and beat them — we have to rebound and defend in order to have a chance at winning.”