Idaho vs. Oregon State
While most University of Idaho students headed home for winter break, the Vandal’s women’s basketball team headed to Lahaina, Hawaii to go against Oregon State and Northern Iowa in the Maui Classic. Their first game was against the Oregon State Beavers. Oregon State started off hot hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter while Idaho couldn’t get anything to fall. Idaho ended the quarter down 15-3. The Vandals fared slightly better in the second quarter, only getting outscored by four points, but the Beavers still lead 31-15 at the end of the half. The third quarter went similarly to the first. Oregon State hit seven shots from behind the arc. Idaho once again struggled to score while the Beavers ran away to a 33-point lead to go into the fourth. The final quarter of the game was a bright spot for the Vandals. They hit four 3-pointers and outscored Oregon State 19-16, but the Beavers ultimately came out on top 79-49. Despite the big loss, it was a great night for freshman guard Ashlyn Wallace as she racked up 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal all off the bench.
Idaho vs. Northern Iowa
It was another tough night for the Vandals as they took on the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Vandals led 5-4 after three minutes of play then Northern Iowa senior forward Bre Gunnels hit a 2-point jumper and the Panthers didn’t look back. It wouldn’t be until less than a minute was left in the first quarter that the Vandals ended a 19-0 run off a 2-point jumper from junior guard/post Beyonce Bea. The second quarter wasn’t any better as Northern Iowa out-scored Idaho 14-6 to take a 37-15 lead into the half. Despite being down 22 at the half, the Vandals came out of the locker room ready to play. Only ten seconds had gone off the clock before Wallace hit a 3-pointer off an assist by sophomore guard Sydney Gandy. 38 seconds later she hit another one. Idaho was able to turn the game around as they put up 25 points in the third to cut their deficit to 14. The Vandals once again outscored the Panthers in the fourth 24-21, but despite the effort, Northern Iowa’s first half run proved to be insurmountable, and the game ended 75-64. Three Vandals made it to double digits in the scoring column. Graduate student guard Allison Kirby finished with 19 points and was one rebound short of a double-double, Gandy had 13, and Wallace had 10.
Idaho vs. Northern Arizona
After a 12-day break in games, the Vandals returned to the ICCU Arena and in-conference play to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona came into this game 2-0 in-conference play while the Vandals were 0-1. The Lumberjacks looked like a powerhouse to start off the game, ending the first quarter with a 20-9 lead. The second quarter looked better as the Vandals were able to match the Lumberjacks in scoring and go into the locker room down 34-23. Just like their game against Northern Iowa, Idaho showed up in the third quarter. Six free throws, three 3-pointers, and a couple layups had the Vandals back in the game as they went into the fourth quarter only down four. Idaho scored immediately to start the fourth as Bea hit a 2-pointer to bring Idaho within two. Bea proceeded to score 12 straight points. Despite her huge effort in the fourth quarter, Northern Arizona proved why they were undefeated as they beat Idaho 76-63. Bea finished the game with 16 points and nine rebounds. Gandy also had a great scoring output with 15. Senior guard/post Tiana Johnson put up her first double-double of the season as she scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, all of which were defensive.
Idaho @ Eastern Washington
There is nothing worse for a basketball team than seeing a “zero” in the win column for in-conference games. The Vandals went up to Cheney, Washington to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles in hopes of getting their first in-conference win of the season. Eastern Washington led for a majority of the first quarter until Wallace hit three 3-pointers in the last few minutes to help Idaho end the quarter up 18-12. The second quarter was similar to the first and the Vandals took a five-point lead into the locker room at half. The Vandals have been a second-half team this season, and the only time this couldn’t be applied this season is when the Vandals have faced Pac-12 teams or the current number one seed in the Big Sky, Southern Utah. In the third quarter, Idaho outscored Eastern Washington 10-3 to bring their lead to 12, but the real damage was done in the fourth. The Vandals clipped the Eagles wings and dominated the final quarter to win 63-42, taking their winning streak against Eastern Washington to eight. The highest scorer for the game was Wallace with 14. She also had four rebounds and three assists. Three other Vandals reached double digits in the scoring column. Bea and Gandy had 10 each while graduate student guard Louise Forsyth had 13. Bea also pulled down five rebounds, Gandy grabbed four and Forsyth had three. Johnson also had a great game pulling down 14 rebounds and was one point shy of having back-to-back double-double games. The Vandals next game will be against fourth ranked Weber State on Jan. 13 at 6 pm in ICCU Arena.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]