It took an overtime period and a few melodramatic 3-pointers, but Vandal women’s basketball pulled out a third-consecutive WAC victory and its first home WAC victory of the season, beating New Mexico State 62-59 in a Thursday evening Cowan Spectrum thriller.
After allowing a 10-point first-half lead slip, the Aggies snapped back late in the second, taking advantage of a sluggish and turnover-prone Vandal team. A Kelsie Rozendaal 3-pointer silenced the Cowan Spectrum but Vandal fans rejoiced when Alyssa Charlston’s 3-point attempt found its way into the hoop, tying it up 58-58. The buzzer sounded seconds later and when overtime came, forward Keri Arendse found her time to shine. The senior’s 3-pointer gave Idaho a 3-point lead and ultimately a victory for the team that endured an eight-game losing streak just weeks ago.
“We’re playing with more enthusiasm and more emotion, we talked about that and we talked about having more fun, playing with more emotion. ,” coach Jon Newlee said.
A quick start for the Vandals helped them jump to a hasty 6-0 lead but the Aggies responded with consecutive buckets and the majority of the first half saw the teams trade baskets until Idaho benefited from a technical foul called on the Aggies’ Erica Sanchez.
The cause of the foul was unclear, although it appeared Sanchez exchanged words with an official. Aggie coach Mark Trakh exchanged some harsher words with Sanchez, who sat out for the remainder of the game.
Arendse converted two free throws and Adrie Shiels drove the lane for a lay-up to help Idaho to a 10-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
Despite playing just 15 minutes in the first half, College Sports Madness WAC Player of the Week Alyssa Charlston became an offensive sparkplug for the Vandals, and nine of her 10 first-half points were within the first ten minutes of the game.
The sophomore said the team’s defensive changes made it more difficult for opponents to get to the basket.
“Staying low, getting our hands up, boxing out, we’ve begun to limit other teams’ offensive boards and that’s huge,” Charlston said. “You know, one and done and we go take ours on the offensive end.”
A much-improved Aggie squad came out of the gates hot in the second half and Idaho’s 10-point lead quickly dissolved to a two-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Freshman Stacey Barr made a few crucial shots down the stretch but the Werribee, Australia native was called for a blocking foul that helped New Mexico State get within one.
Not more than five minutes later Tabytha Wampler’s jumper tied the game at 55-55 with 1:52 remaining in the game.
Rozendaal’s three with 22 seconds left gave New Mexico State its first lead of the game and left the Vandals minimal time to attempt a shot. Charlston wasted no time when she received the ball and fired a three from the left wing to send it into overtime.
An Arendse three-ball would be the only field goal recorded in overtime, but was all the Vandals needed to seal the win.
“We just wanted to play with the same energy and intensity that we did on the road,” Arendse said. “We’re a totally different team, just our energy and mindset so I think we wanted to come out the same and we definitely wanted to redeem ourselves from the last time we played New Mexico State.”
Charlston’s 17 points were a game-high, while Arendse and Graham grabbed seven rebounds apiece.
Idaho shot better from 3-point range than it has all season, converting 47.1 percent of its attempts.
The Vandals’ two-game home stand concludes Saturday when they take on La. Tech at 5:30 p.m. in the Cowan Spectrum. A traditional powerhouse in the WAC, La. Tech hasn’t seen the success this year they’re accustomed to. The Lady Techsters stand at 11-11 and 4-3 in the WAC, good enough for No. 3. Hawaii and San Jose State both trail La. Tech with a record of 3-4.