Despite being shorthanded, the Idaho women’s basketball team kept the hope for a No. 4 seed in the WAC tournament alive by beating San Jose State 70-65 in Cowan Spectrum Thursday.
Before tipoff, two Idaho starters were unavailable. Junior Jessica Graham was out due to an ankle sprain and Idaho’s leading scorer, Alyssa Charlston, was unavailable in the first half due to illness, but managed to play in the second. Freshman Taylor Weiks said Charlston’s return was an emotional lift.
“She’s (Charlston) always a really big contributor and a motivator so for her to come out there after being sick really meant a lot to us that she would do that,” Weiks said. “I think it was a big motivation booster.”
With the win, the Vandals can still improve their seed for the WAC tournament. The Vandals can get as high as No. 4 after Hawaii lost to Utah State Thursday. An Idaho win Saturday will guarantee it at least the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
“It’s really exciting,” Weiks said. “We’re in a really good position to go to the WAC tournament so we’re going to just bring it like we did tonight.”
The Vandals turned the ball over 20 times or more in three straight games heading into the San Jose State contest, but turned it over a season-low six times against the Spartans. Idaho coach Jon Newlee said protecting the ball was huge.
“That was the key to the game, taking care of the basketball,” Newlee said. “Giving up transition layups when we turn it over has been our problem this year. We made San Jose earn what they got tonight.”
Idaho started the first half with a 5-0 run, but the Spartans countered with an 8-0 run. Idaho answered and regained the lead, thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers. The Vandals got their lead up to 11, but the Spartans slowly came back to bring the deficit to five at halftime, 37-32.
The second half was close all the way through with multiple lead changes. The Spartans got into foul trouble early in the half, giving Idaho multiple shots from the charity stripe, but the Vandals were cold in their free-throw shooting. Newlee said the Vandals were lucky missed free throws didn’t come back to haunt them.
“Honestly I thought that was going to cost us the basketball game and it came close to doing that,” Newlee said.
With less than three minutes to play, the Vandals mounted a 7-0 run to take a seven-point lead. The Spartans brought the deficit back to three with less than a minute to play, but Idaho hung on.
Senior Keri Arendse said it was all about Idaho’s determination.
“I think we just all knew we had to come out and play our best. The whole team came out ready to go,” Arendse said. ” … We want to finish the season right.”
San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson led all scorers with 26 points. The Spartans are one win away from their first non-losing conference season in five years. The Spartans have lost nine straight games in Moscow.
Weiks and Arendse led Idaho with 14 points apiece. Weiks went 4-7 from the 3-point line to nab a career high.
“It feels pretty good,” Weiks said. “It wasn’t just me. I was able to get that many points off me teammates.”
The Vandals finish their regular season Saturday hosting Hawaii. It will be senior day for Idaho. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Cowan Spectrum.