The Splash Sisters left Idaho almost a year ago, but the memory of what Mikayla Ferenz and Taylor Pierce were able to accomplish is still fresh in the minds of Vandal fans.
As Vandals, the sharpshooting duo put up stats that impressed not only Idaho’s program and the conference, but the nation as well.
It seemed like the days of Pierce and Ferenz shooting threes and lighting up the stat sheet were over, until now.
The Ringwood Hawks in the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia signed the Splash Sisters, rejoining the two, but this time in the big leagues.
“I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to play with Taylor again. She’s not just a teammate, she’s one of my closest friends,” Ferenz said. “So, to be able to see the world and play basketball together is incredible.”
The NBL regular season will tip-off on April 18 and go through August 8.
“We got the call about two months ago, so we have been keeping it quiet for a while now,” Pierce said. “The minute we got the phone call, it was a little bit of a freakout. We did some thinking – but there was really no question.”
Looking back at the success of the duo, the numbers are still as impressive as the day they were put in the record books.
Ferenz, the Walla Walla native, left Idaho as one of the best overall scorers in program and conference history.
She finished her career with 2,466 points, the most in program and Big Sky history, and holds the program record for points in a season with 749 in 2018-2019. This led to Ferenz being the 2018- 2019 player of the year.
Pierce became one of the deadliest three-point shooters the nation has ever seen.
The Carlsbad, California native, broke the NCAA record for most threes per game for a season, averaging over four a game during her final season at Idaho.
Pierce wrote her way into the Idaho record books too, making a program-record 472 threes during her four-year career.
All of this added up to the Splash Sisters becoming two of just five college women to make over 400 threes in a career.
“I think Taylor and I will still have the chemistry we built together at Idaho,” Ferenz said. “Because we played alongside each other for four years, we know how to play off of each other, which is something I think we will continue to do down under.”
Ferenz is enjoying a successful start to her pro career, averaging 24.6 points, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game in Luxembourg, playing for AB Contern in the Total League.
This will be Ferenz’s second professional contract while Pierce is making her initial jump to the pros.
“The main thing I can help Taylor with is the adjustment of life as a student-athlete to a professional athlete. The routine and lifestyle is different, but I think Taylor will adjust quickly,” Ferenz said. “Basketball will always be basketball so the difference in play will be no problem for Taylor to adjust to.”
Despite being a big life decision to move across the globe to play as a professional, there was no hesitation for the two to reunite.
“Just the chance to play with each other again was just something that you can’t pass up,” Pierce said.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at arg-sports.uidahoedu or on Twitter @kellogg_zack.