The Idaho Vandals fell short to the Seattle University in a 68-60 game at the Memorial Gym on Friday.
Shooting troubles continued for Idaho bringing another loss for the troubled Vandals this season.
It was a fight from the start for both the Vandals and Redhawks, until the Redhawk offense got hot. Seattle University shot nearly 50 percent in the first quarter, taking as big as a nine-point lead in the first quarter.
Idaho found its shooting from beyond the arc in the first quarter, shooting 40 percent from three-point range. The second quarter included some rough offense from both teams. After Idaho went on a near four-minute scoring drought, the Vandal offense came alive finishing 46 percent from the field in the quarter.
Seattle University could not get anything going in the second quarter shooting only 25 percent in the second quarter. Idaho clawed their way back in the second quarter to make it a 34-31 ball game at the half.
It was all Seattle in the third quarter, not giving up the lead for the whole quarter. The Vandals finally tied the game at 50 early in the fourth quarter, then taking a 53-52 lead with seven minutes remaining in the ball game.
Unfortunately, the shooting woes came on full display for the Vandals in the fourth quarter. Idaho finished the game making only two of their last 10 shot attempts with Seattle going on a 10-2 late run in the fourth quarter.
The Vandals finished shooting 30 percent for the game, losing to Seattle at home 68-60.
Senior guard Mikayla Ferenz led the game shooting for the Vandals, scoring 21 points while adding seven rebounds.
Both teams finished below 40 percent shooting, with both teams having difficulty finding their shots throughout the game. The Vandals only led throughout the game for 30 seconds.
Idaho head coach Jon Newlee thinks that tiring out down the stretch may have been a minor issue in the loss on Friday.
“I think that could have happened. I thought we were defending at a pretty high level there,” Newlee said. “They battled back and got the lead I thought we could hang on.”
Idaho won the past seven games against the Redhawks, but unfortunately came up short on Friday night.
The Vandals are looking to get things back on track on Monday against Arizona State University.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected]