An early lead didn’t cut it for the Vandals this time.
A 74-66 loss Saturday afternoon to the Eastern Washington Eagles left the Idaho women’s basketball team 2-1 in Big Sky conference play.
This win boosts Eastern Washington’s record to 3-0 against Big Sky opponent and also improves the Eagles record in the regional rivalry to 38-29.
Freshman guard Mikayla Ferenz led Idaho with 18 points, while senior guard Christina Salvatore added 14.
Salvatore received a ceremonial basketball during the pregame ceremony to commemorate a new school record for the most career 3-pointers with 270.
“I wouldn’t get it (the record) without my teammates,” Salvatore said. “ It’s awesome to be able to say ‘Hey my name’s up there,’ but I wouldn’t have gotten it without my team.”
Former teammate Stacey Barr previously held the record with 268 treys.
Idaho coach Jon Newlee was disappointed with the overall performance against the Eagles.
“We didn’t block out, we were horrendous on the glass tonight,” said Newlee. “We backed down from them today.”
Six points from sophomore post Geraldine McCorkell and three points from freshman guard Taylor Pierce earned Idaho an early 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Senior post Renae Mokrzycki opened the second period with a layup to extend Idaho’s lead to three points.
Eastern Washington began to pull ahead at the end of the second quarter with four lay-ups in a row to bring the score to 31-26.
A three from Pierce closed the gap but Eastern Washington entered halftime leading 33-29.
Idaho’s offense faltered during the third quarter, while Eastern Washington continued to rack up points.
“The start of the third quarter was a killer for us getting down by 15,” Newlee said. “We battled back. It showed a lot of heart to get back to within three.”
Two points from McCorkell ended Idaho’s scoring drought in the third quarter, bringing the score to 43-31.
A deep three from McCorkell late in third quarter reduced the lead to just six points.
Idaho began the fourth quarter by applying more defensive pressure on the Eagles.
Three points from Salvatore reduced Eastern Washington’s lead to 63-59 midway through the fourth.
Eastern Washington’s foul trouble put Idaho in double bonus during the final five minutes of the matchup.
Mokryzycki cut the lead to 63-60 by converting a free throw attempt with 3:48 remaining in the game.
After the teams traded baskets, another three from Salvatore with 28 seconds left of play cut the score to 69-66.
Mariah Cunningham of Eastern Washington sunk three free-throws in the closing seconds to seal the win for the Eagles.
The game ended with a 74-66 Idaho loss.
Hayley Hodgins was the highest scoring Eagle with 16 points, five steals and five turnovers.
The Eagles out-rebounded Idaho with 43 to Idaho’s 36.
“I think we finished well,” Salvatore said. “We let them get what they wanted offensively.”
Idaho is scheduled to face Northern Arizona at 5:30 p.m. in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos