The Idaho women’s basketball team clinched a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference tournament next week after a 77-70 victory against Weber State Wednesday night.
The Vandals sharp shooting took down the Wildcats in a crucial conference road win.
Wednesday’s victory allowed Idaho to enter the weekend battling Eastern Washington for second in the Big Sky standings. With one game left in conference play, Idaho can finish no worse than fourth place in the standings.
“Tonight was huge,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee noted. “We did not want to have to come down to the last game to figure out seeding.”
Idaho took control of the game early in the first quarter with five consecutive points.
The Vandals caught fire in the second quarter with the help of senior Renae Mokrzycki, who came off the bench to score eight straight points to propel the Vandals to a 25-12 lead.
Freshman Taylor Pierce drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minutes before halftime to give the Vandals a 41-25 lead.
The Vandals shot 44.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from the perimeter in the first half of play.
Weber State finished the half shooting 29 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from 3-point range.
Weber State fought back in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10Â points. The Vandals responded with a 9-1 run, giving the team a 20-point lead over the Wildcats.
Despite Weber State’s final attempts to pull ahead in the fourth quarter, the Vandals finished on top with a seven-point victory.
“I like the way we came out tonight,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said. “We came out really focused, knowing what we had to do down here. I thought we played really well for three-and-a-half quarters.”
Idaho finished the game shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Sophomore Geraldine McCorkell led the Vandals with 15 points while senior Christina Salvatore collected 11 rebounds.
Salvatore passed former teammate Stacie Barr for seventh in school history for career-boards with 752 during Wednesday’s game.
The Vandals will face Idaho State Friday at 6 p.m. in Pocatello.
Stat Box:
First Quarter Points: Idaho 18 — Weber State 12
Second Quarter Points: Idaho 23 — Weber State 13
Third Quarter Points: Idaho 20 — Weber State 16
Fourth Quarter Points: Idaho 16 — Weber State 29
Final Score: Idaho 77 — Weber State 70
Top Performers:
Points — Geraldine McCorkell 15
Rebounds — Christina Salvatore 11
Assists — Connie Ballestero 5
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected]