After the Vandals 85-82 regular season finale loss, head coach Jon Newlee was confident about Boise. “If we can continue playing at this level like we are, I feel good about our chances,” he said. However, the Vandals were not up to the level as the Hornets dominated 73-58 to end Idaho’s season.
Heading into the fourth quarter the Vandals were down 48-44. They were able to get within two points, but the Hornets held strong. Sacramento State outscored the Vandals 25-14 in the fourth quarter to move on to the semifinals. Senior guard, and Big Sky MVP, Kahlaijah Dean made two straight jump shots late to put the dagger in the Vandals’ season.
Despite Idaho getting close, Sacramento State led the entire game. The Hornets were led by their star duo of Dean and junior center Isnelle Natabou. They combined for 44 of Sacramento State’s 73 points. Dean had 22 points, shooting 10/20 overall and 2/7 from three-point range. She also added 13 rebounds and eight assists to her stellar game. Natabou also gave the Hornets 22 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 10/18 overall and 2/3 from the line.
As a team, the Hornets shot 29/62 overall, 10/25 from beyond the arc and 5/7 from the line. They outrebounded the Vandals 31-20, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Senior forward Beyonce Bea was awarded first team all Big Sky this week, but she struggled in the first half. She only scored three points in the first quarter and was held scoreless in the second. However, the veteran showed up after halftime, scoring 13 points in the second half. She finished with 16 points. shooting 6/18 overall, 1/3 from three and a perfect 3/3 from the free-throw line. Bea also would add six rebounds and three assists in the game.
Bea ends the season tied for third with Emily Faurholt in career points with 1,938. She sits just 528 points behind the all-time leader in Vandal history with her final season yet to come.
The Vandals were underwhelming as a team. They shot 22/58 from the field, 8/26 from three and 6/7 from the line. One of the bright spots for Idaho was junior guard Sydney Gandy as she had one of her best games of the season. Gandy finished with 11 points, shooting 4/11 from the field and 3/7 from three. She hit a few important three pointers for the Vandals to keep them in the game, but they weren’t quite enough.
Senior forward Tiana Johnson ended her six-year college basketball career with 10 points, shooting 4/9 from the field and 2/7 from three. Johnson ended her career with 1,334 total points, 780 at Sac State and 554 during her final two seasons with Idaho.
The Vandals got down early and were unable to climb back. In the end, all the missed late shots, and the inability to rebound, sent the Vandals back to Moscow. The Vandals ended with a 13-17 overall record and a 9-9 conference record, winning three out of their last five games before heading to Boise.
Sacramento State was able to advance past Portland State in the semifinal. They currently lead Northern Arizona 37-22 at halftime in the championship game on ESPNU/ESPN+.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10