After pound-the-paint win against Portland State last weekend, the Vandals had a proverbial return to form Thursday against Northern Arizona.
Idaho defeated the Lumberjacks 86-69 in Flagstaff to stay in step at the top of the conference. The Vandals sank 15 3-pointers in the victory and remain tied with Portland State for third with Northern Colorado and Idaho State each sitting a half game ahead in the standings.
“I thought we were solid. When you’re on the road, it’s critical at times to get out to a good lead early because it makes your job a lot easier,” said head coach Jon Newlee in a news release. Newlee’s squad is now 4-1 in Big Sky road games after starting 1-6 away from home prior to conference play.
Idaho (10-8, 7-2 BSC) took control of the game early and never gave the Lumberjacks a chance after the first quarter. Senior guard Mikayla Ferenz hit a jumper less than a minute and a half into the game to break a 2-2 tie and the Vandals never relinquished the lead.
The Lumberjacks (6-13, 2-8 BSC) were coming off a win against Southern Utah, but Idaho never ceded the momentum. Senior guard Taylor Pierce hit one of her seven threes to open the second half, followed by another three from Ferenz on the next possession.
The first couples of threes we had at the start of the second half put them back on their heels. It took away any momentum they were hoping to get for a comeback,” said Newlee. “I thought that those were critical, getting stops and jumping out on them right after the half was big.”
Ferenz and Pierce led the charge with 21 points and four assists apiece, but the difference in the game came from bench play. Freshman guard Janie King poured in 12 points on 4-6 shooting from behind the arc, and junior post Isabelle Hadden finished with 10 to help Idaho secure a 24-20 advantage in bench points.
“Janie (King) came off the bench and gave us a jump start. We had a cold patch in there, but Janie stepped up and filled that void. She did a great job,” Newlee said.
Sophomore post Natalie Klinker led the charge on the boards, leading all players with 11 rebounds.
“(Klinker) rebounded the heck out of the basketball. She was battling in the paint, even when things got physical. Although it never gets too physical for the Klinker girls,” said Newlee.
Up next, the Vandals will travel to play Southern Utah 1p.m. Saturday Feb. 2.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker