The spirit of the holiday season was well and abundant in the Cowan Spectrum this week.
Following a win on Monday against Carroll College, the Vandals emerged with a 92-65 victory over North Dakota Thursday at the Cowan Spectrum.
Senior guard Christina Salvatore scored 21 points for the Vandals and provided four assists. Salvatore also shot 5-5 from behind the arc.
Sophomore post Geraldine McCorkell followed Salvatore’s performance with 20 points of her own. Senior post Renae Mokrzycki added eight rebounds.
North Dakota struggled offensively during the first period. The Fighting Hawks shot 27 percent from inside the arc and did not convert on any 3-point attempts.
Idaho took the lead after twenty seconds of play and never relented.
Salvatore hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to give Idaho a 21-9 lead.
The Vandals continued the offensive explosion into the second quarter.
McCorkell and freshman Taylor Pierce combined to score 11 points in the first five minutes of the quarter, while a layup by senior post Tayla Corrigan gave Idaho a 50-23 lead at halftime..
The third quarter began with six points from Salvatore and two points apiece from McCorkell and senior post Ali Forde.
Corrigan added five points and freshman guard Mikayla Ferenz sunk a layup that gave the Vandals a 76-42 heading into the final quarter.
North Dakota started fourth quarter with six points, but the deficit for the Fighting Hawks proved too much to handle. The game ended in a 92-65 victory for the Vandals.
Lead Szabla led the Fighting Hawks with 11 points and three assists. Jill Morton added six rebounds for North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks were held to 25 percent shooting from behind the arc and 46 percent from the floor.
The Vandals shot 59 percent from three-point range and 50 percent from the floor.
Idaho plays Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos