The Vandals’ combination of lackluster shooting and pitiful paint defense led to their worst point total of the season, resulting in a 57-38 loss to the Northern Colorado Bears Thursday night.
They went 4-for-18 from the three-point line and 13-for-50 overall but finished 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.
On the defensive side of the ball, Idaho allowed 46 points in the paint, over twice as many as they let up the first time around.
“They obviously really hurt us in the paint,” Head Coach Carrie Eighmey said. “It’s an interesting dilemma that you have with that team because they have good post players, but they also have really good shooters on the perimeter.”
Despite those perimeter shooters, UNC only hit one three on eight attempts. That one shot came in the second quarter, then the Bears only took two more, both in the third. Idaho was able to hold UNC to so few perimeter shots because it limited senior guard Hannah Simental.
Simental has been a leader on the team since she got to Greeley, but the Vandals have been able to stop her in both games this season. She’s third in the Big Sky in three-point percentage, hitting 58 of her 146 attempts. However, she’s gone 0-for-5 when against UI.
While Idaho has been able to hold one of Northern Colorado’s best scorers, the same can’t be said for the Bears holding Kennedy Johnson. The junior guard put up almost half of Idaho’s points, shooting 2-for-4 from three, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and 6-for-14 overall to reach 18 total points. Unlike Simental, Johnson isn’t a prolific three-point shooter, but her 85% from the free-throw line is the second best in the conference.
Although Johnson was great for Idaho, the rest of the team didn’t fill in the stat sheet. The next best scorer was graduate student guard Amalie Langer with six points. She also only had one assist.
“(Northern Colorado) did a great job of making things not look open, and I didn’t think we were great passers tonight, which gave up a lot of stuff in transition,” Eighmey said. “They had 19 points off 17 turnovers.”
If Idaho has any hope of competing with Northern Arizona on Saturday, it has to put this game far in the rearview mirror.
Idaho will tip off with NAU at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 in ICCU Arena. This will be the second-to-last opportunity for Vandal fans to watch women’s basketball at home before the Big Sky tournament.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25