The Idaho women’s basketball team entered Saturday’s matchup on the road at North Dakota hoping to remain near to top of the conference standings.
After a 65-59 win in Grand Forks, the Vandals handed North Dakota its first loss in seven games, moving the Vandals to 10-3 in Big Sky play.
Senior guard Christina Salvatore moved to 10th all-time in school history for scoring. She led the Vandals with 20 points against the Fighting Hawks and shot at 50 percent from three-point range.
During the first quarter, the Vandals shot 57.1 percent from the field to take a 22-18 lead. North Dakota fought back during the second quarter to take an 11-point lead.
Idaho failed to score any points until senior post Ali Forde added a layup midway through the period.
The Vandals took advantage of a 7-2 run to cut the deficit and enter halftime trailing 35-29.
Salvatore opened the third quarter with eight points following two treys and a layup.
Both teams battled for the lead in the third quarter, as the two programs exchanged the lead five times.
Forde scored six points to regain the lead for Idaho.
Karlee Wilson and freshman guards Mikayla Ferenz and Taylor Pierce added to the Vandals lead to help Idaho enter the fourth quarter with a 52-47 lead.
Pierce opened the fourth period with a deep 3-pointer to give the Vandals an eight-point lead.
The Fighting Hawks attempted a late offensive push, but the deficit proved too much for North Dakota to overcome.
Ferenz sunk four free throws in the closing seconds of the game to notch a win for Idaho.
Idaho collected nine defensive rebounds and notched four steals during the final quarter of play to hold off the Fighting Hawks.
The Vandals are scheduled to face Portland State at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Cowan Spectrum.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos