Vandals roll over Vikings in Portland

Another stellar night from Stacey Barr lifts Idaho

Another day and another 20-point game for senior guard Stacey Barr.

The Melbourne, Australia, native continued her strong senior season, scoring 13 points in the first half as the Vandals rolled over Portland Stats 69-49 Thursday night in Portland.

Barr finished the night with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor. It could have been a bigger night for her, had she not spent most of the second half on the bench after taking a hard charge. The win was her fourth straight game with 20 or more points.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout the first half, but thanks to 13 points from Barr, Idaho took a 31-26 lead into the second half. Junior Ali Forde also chipped in six in the first half.

Idaho will look to parlay this performance into a winning streak when the team is back on the road Saturday to take on Sacramento State, the team to hand them their worst loss of the season Jan. 15 in the Cowan Spectrum.

The Vandals began early-game planning for SSU this week, even before the PSU game. Protecting the ball is key against the SSU offense, Newlee said.

Despite the lopsided finish, the Vikings still played tough. They went into the second half with a 31-26 deficit, but a 9-2 Idaho run at the start of the half extended the lead to 12.

The Vandals outscored the Vikings 38-23 in the second half, and this was with many of Idaho’s key players spending time on the bench due to an injury to Barr and the continued foul trouble for Forde.

Unlike the last two games, Barr got some help from her teammates on the offensive end. Junior post Ali Forde was second on the team with 13 points and also added five rebounds down low.

Her night could have been even more impressive had her continued foul trouble problem not have reared its head. Forde only played 21 minutes on the night.

“They certainly had no answer for her,” Newlee said. “She only played 21 minutes. With 13 points in 21 minutes, she was dominating when she was in there. Unfortunately, she had a couple of cheap fouls, that is what she needs to stay away from so I can play her longer.”

Despite the foul trouble, a late lead and come solid play down low from Tayla Corrigan, the Vandals held off the Vikings.

Tayla Corrigan made the most of her minutes with Forde and Geraldine McCorkell both getting into some foul trouble, adding six points and five rebounds.

Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]

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