The ending wasn’t perfect, but the women’s basketball team still had a truly remarkable season.
The Vandals finished the season with a 13-5 conference record and a 19-14 record overall. It was Idaho’s third consecutive winning season and a two-game improvement in conference play over last season.
Idaho ended the season in second place in the Big Sky Conference, both in the regular season and postseason tournament. The team was picked to finish fourth in the preseason media poll and fifth in the coaches’ poll, meaning that the team outperformed expectations by a meaningful margin.
This season had many spectacular highlights, but the nine-game win streak through conference play was something that will be remembered for a long time.
The Vandals came back from Eastern Washington after a disappointing 71-64 loss on the road and then they wouldn’t lose for more than a month. Idaho won in every manner imaginable, including a one point nail-biter against Portland State and a wire-to-wire domination of Sacramento State.
After starting conference play with a tepid 2-3, the Vandals were suddenly 11-3 in conference play and entrenched within the top two.
The streak also included one of the most remarkable performances of recent memory from the team’s statistical leader throughout the season. On Jan. 27, junior guard Mikayla Ferenz transcended her usually impressive levels of production and found an even higher gear. Ferenz recorded Idaho’s first triple-double in more than 30 years with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on the road against North Dakota.
It was a microcosm of a terrific season for Ferenz, who finished tied for seventh in the nation averaging 22.5 points per game to go along with career highs in rebounds and assists per game. She topped 30 points on seven different occasions and she nearly had another triple-double against Portland State with 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in the Big Sky Tournament. After the regular season, she was rightfully recognized on the All-Big Sky First Team.
Ferenz is, of course, only one third of Idaho’s trio of leaders.
Junior guard Taylor Pierce took another leap in the 2017-18 season. She helped lead Idaho to a season in which they made a conference-best 346 3-point field goals this season. Pierce contributed a career high 137 makes and tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game on two separate occasions. Against Cal State Fullerton, she even managed to make her first nine consecutive threes and outscored the Titans by herself in the first half.
Pierce was the team’s workhorse, leading all players with 37.3 minutes per game to go along with her career highs in points, rebounds and assists.
Idaho will surely miss senior post Geraldine McCorkell, who provided a steady presence in the key as head coach Jon Newlee experimented with lineups. McCorkell poured in a career high 16.5 points per game, bringing her career total to 1,552 points, good for eighth all time in the Idaho records. She parlayed that high volume with a career high 7.8 rebounds per game to lead Idaho in double-doubles with eight and she was honored with an All-Big Sky third team recognition.
Idaho may not have won the conference or returned to the NCAA Tournament, but the team has much to be proud of as they head into the offseason. The 2017-18 season had its fair share of tough losses and heartache, but there was more than enough success to make another enjoyable season and a hopeful future.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker