As many of the fans piled out of Idaho Central Credit Union Arena, the Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team were not done putting on a show, and their two freshmen were the stars of the show in the fourth quarter in the Vandals’ 94-39 victory over Walla Walla and move to 2-1 on the season.
Freshman guard Sofia Ekh caught fire from beyond the arc, draining three three-pointers in the quarter to finish with 11 points in the period and a career-high 16 points, going 4-5 from three-point range. On her final triple, freshman guard Katlin Kangur used her electrifying speed to race up the court, turned the corner, saw no opening, and pivoted back to the left wing where Ekh rolled off her defender and swished the shot.
The freshman duo combined for 26 points in the game as they continued to develop and grow their games in a Vandal uniform.
“Those two did a great job for us. That’s what Sophia does. She’s a great scorer, she does it every single day in practice,” head coach Arthur Moreira said. “The game is a little fast for her right now, which is normal when you come over as a freshman, especially how hard she plays. So it was good to see it slow down a little bit. I think she’s gonna end up being a really good player for us here in the future.”
“I was very nervous before the game started,” Ekh said. “But I feel like everyone on the team is so supporting, and you can feel the fans too from our home arena that trust you, so it makes the shots easier.”
Kangur, like Ekh, had a career high. She finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists as she was all over the court with her speed, great court vision, calm finesse at the rim and her incredible basketball IQ, which has led to her gaining more and more minutes so far throughout the season.
“She is so smart. Her IQ is off the charts. She’s a great passer, she’s tough. She’s stronger than your regular freshman,” Moreira said. “She’s probably a little more ready right away than Sophia is, but I think the future of those two is going to be pretty good. I’m really excited to have them in the program.”
Along with the freshman duo, sophomore guard Ella Uriarte had a career day with 14 points (10 in the second half) and was also a difference maker in transition, opening up the Vandals’ offense. Five Vandals finished in double figures on the night as the balanced scoring attack overwhelmed Walla Walla.
“It’s the best playing at home with all the fans it’s a different level of energy, and our team really feeds off of it,” Uriarte said.
The Vandals found their rhythm early, finishing with 25 assists as a team. Sophomore guard Ana Pinheiro led the game off with a layup. After a miss by Walla Walla, senior guard Kyra Gardner saw junior guard Hope Hassmann streaking down the left side and threw a perfect pass in the path of Hassmann, who finished it off for the first of Gardner’s career-high five assists in the game.
The Vandals were clicking on offense, and the defense, which struggled in the previous two games, started to make strides and play team defense, forcing Walla Walla into low-percentage shots. They were very active on the defensive end, finishing the game with 15 steals and forcing 26 turnovers.
Despite the big game on defense, Uriarte and the Vandals are not satisfied and look to improve as the season goes along.
“I think defensively, we need to get the ball in order to run fast, so getting a stop and getting a board to get out fast is super important,” Uriarte said. “We still have some kinks we’re working out as far as stopping the ball and making sure that we’re playing team defense.”
After taking a 22-2 lead into the second quarter, the Vandals let Walla Walla have their best quarter and took a 45-20 lead into the locker room.
“I was a little disappointed with our effort in the second quarter,” Moreira said. “I felt like we were kind of worried about the score too much, and we didn’t play as hard, but we came out at halftime ready to go and work on the things we need to work on.”
The Vandals’ defense tightened up and turned defense into offense for much of the third quarter. After leaving the game with an injury, junior guard Hope Hassmann returned a few minutes later and showed her elite defensive ability. Walla Walla was moving the ball around the perimeter when Hassmann jumped the pass and intercepted it, taking it coast to coast for the layup.
Toughness is in the DNA of Moreira’s teams, and Hassmann embodies that mentality, setting the tone for her teammates on both ends of the floor. Her willingness to battle through an injury and immediately make an impact defensively is the kind of effort that fuels the Vandals’ identity.
“Regardless of who she’s playing against, she finds ways to impact the game other than just scoring,” Moreira said.
The Vandals will have the week off before they welcome Southern Utah to ICCU Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m.
“There’s a couple things we got to fix,” Moreira said. “I think shot selection, we’re going to work on that this week. Watch a lot of film, now we can kind of break down all three games and see what we’re good at, where we’re not good at, and then our defensive rotations. Those two are probably my priority right now to fix.”
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].