The Idaho Vandals came into conference play with a .500 record of 5-5 and opened conference play with a chance for revenge. Their first conference opponent was the defending Big Sky champions, the Sacramento State Hornets.
Sacramento State
The Hornets defeated the Vandals in the Big Sky tournament quarterfinals 73-58 ending the Vandals season. The Hornets, however, after losing most of their team and their head coach, came into the opening weekend of conference play with a 1-8 record. The Vandals got revenge in a big way with an 88-51 victory over the Hornets, giving them their first conference win of the season.
The Vandals came out on the front foot and dominated the Hornets, outscoring them 25-10 in the first quarter. Graduate guard Amalie Langer led the Vandals with eight points in the first quarter including two three pointers.
The Vandals kept their foot on the gas and took a 49-21 lead into the locker room. Idaho was impressive on both ends on the floor in the first, especially offensively. The Vandals shot 19-for-32 from the field, 8-for-11 from three and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Hornets were less than impressive, shooting 7-for-28 from the field, 3-for-11 from three and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The Hornets had their best quarter of the game in the third, but the Vandals were still in control with a 68-38 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Vandals outscored the Hornets 20-13 in the final quarter as they cruised to an 88-51 victory getting their revenge and first conference win of the season. The Vandals had a solid second half and finished the game shooting 34-for-58 from the field, an impressive 11-for-21 from three and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line.
The Hornets improved shooting the basketball in the second half, but it was not enough to make the game close. The Hornets went 20-for-61 from the field, 5-for-24 from beyond the arc and 6-for-15 from the free throw line.
The Hornets were led by redshirt sophomore Benthe Versteeg with 17 points. The Vandals were led by junior forward Kennedy Johnson who also had 17 points. Johnson added nine rebounds to her tally. All five of the Vandal starters finished in double figures.
Portland State
Coming off their first conference win, the Idaho Vandals rolled into the City of Roses and took down Portland State 61-55 to get their second. Portland State, which was coming off a ten-point loss to Eastern Washington on night one, came out hot and put the pressure on the Vandals.
The Vandals led the Vikings 10-4 almost halfway through the first quarter, but Portland State turned it on and outscored the Vandals 15-2 to take a 19-12 lead into the second quarter. The Vandals, behind strong play from Johnson and graduate guard Sarah Schmitt, flipped the script on the Vikings.
Idaho outscored PSU 19-7 and took a 31-26 lead into the break. The Vandals, like they did in the Sac State game, shot 50% in the first half. The Vandals finished the half 12-for-24 from the field 3-for-6 from three and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Vikings were also impressive shooting the ball in the first half. They finished 11-for-28 from the field and 4-for-13 from the three-point line.
The third quarter began, and the game went back and forth with each team answering the other.
With 30 seconds left in the quarter, the Vandals were only up by two points. sophomore forward Sarah Brans knocked down a jumper to put the Vandals up 47-43. After a defensive stop by the Vandals the score would remain the same heading into the fourth quarter.
The battle-tested Vandals showed their grit and fight as Portland State countered each jab they threw at each other, but the Vandals kept fighting and the last few minutes showed the team’s fight.
With the game tied at 53, sophomore guard Asha Phillips made a layup to put them up two. However, Vikings junior guard Esmeralda Morales knocked down a clutch jumper to tie the game back at 55.
Out of a timeout by the Vandals, Idaho turned to their experienced guard, and she delivered. Johnson got the ball, passed to Schmitt, Schmitt spun to beat a defender and kissed the ball off the glass to put the Vandals back in the lead.
The Vandals would then clutch up defensively stopping the Vikings after Johnson stole the ball. A few more fouls later, the ball landed in the hands of junior guard Ashlyn Wallace with a chance to put the game away for the Vandals.
Wallace stepped up to the line and nailed the first one. Wallace would rinse and repeat and after the two made free throws the Vandals were up 59-55.
Another stop and two more free throws would sure up the Vandals 61-55 win and make them a perfect 2-0 on opening weekend. Johnson led all Vandal scorers with 16 points, and she added seven rebounds.
Schmitt had the best day overall. She had 10 points, brought down nine rebounds and dished out five dimes to help the Vandals get the hard-fought victory.
The Vikings were led by their dynamic duo in Morales and junior guard/forward Alaya Fitzgerald. Morales led all scorers with 18 and Fitzgerald added 17. However, the heroic effort from the duo was no match for the Vandals.
The 7-5 Vandals will travel to Denver Colorado for the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge to take on the University of Denver on Jan. 3 at 4 p.m. as the Vandals look to increase their win streak.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10