It had come down to one free throw. Senior guard Mary McMorris had a chance to seal the game after a clutch offensive rebound. As a team, the Vandals were 16-26 from the free throw line, and McMorris was just 1-4. With the game on the line, McMorris had a chance to change the narrative.
McMorris bounced the ball and swished the second free throw to give Idaho a two-possession lead. The Vandals used an excellent final defensive possession to secure a 76-72 hard-fought win over the Thunderbirds and move to 3-1 on the season.
McMorris, a transfer from Valdosta State, was huge for the Vandals down the stretch, knocking down key baskets and grabbing that all-important offensive rebound to seal the win.
“If Mary was at 80% of the other mid-major teams in the country, she’d probably be a starter,” head coach Arthur Moreira said. “I have full trust in her in late-game situations. She made some big baskets for us. If Mary’s on the floor, I know we’re going to get a stop. If there’s a loose ball, she’s going to come up with it. She’s going to do whatever it takes to win.”
After the Vandals struggled in the first quarter, Southern Utah jumped out to an 18-12 lead before redshirt senior Debora dos Santos made a key layup as the buzzer sounded to cut into the Thunderbirds’ lead.
Dos Santos continued her momentum into the second quarter, scoring three straight points to cut the Vandals’ deficit to one. Then, junior guard Hope Hassmann came alive.
Coming into the game, Hassmann was 1-11 from beyond the arc, but she remained confident in her abilities. She came off a screen and knocked down a three to give the Vandals the lead. Hassmann then grabbed a rebound, dribbled by her defender, stepped back and knocked down another three to get into an offensive rhythm.
“Just being confident with every shot I take,” Hassmann said. “I feel like it comes from my teammates. They’re always hyping me up and making sure every other teammate is still doing their own thing, so getting them assisted, and when I have my chance, to knock them down.”
Hassmann continued her brilliant second quarter she grabbed another rebound, pushed the floor and found sophomore guard Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva for an easy layup to extend the Vandals’ lead.
The Vandals used their momentum to push their lead. However, the Thunderbirds fought back and went on a 5-0 run to end the half, cutting Idaho’s halftime lead to 38-35.
Southern Utah kept the momentum alive and outscored Idaho 22-16 in the third quarter, taking a 57-54 lead into the fourth.
The teams went back and forth until the Vandals, behind the play of forwards dos Santos and graduate student Lorena Barbosa, built a seven-point lead with under three minutes to go. Southern Utah’s three-point shooting kept them in the game and they cut into the lead however it wasn’t enough in the end.
Hassmann led the Vandals with a season-high 21 points, finishing a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line to add to her already stellar season at the stripe. She also added five assists and four rebounds. Dos Santos, Barbosa and senior forward Sarah Brans combined for 33 points — dos Santos with 13, Barbosa with 12 and Brans with eight, in what was a huge contribution to the victory.
“Those three were huge for us,” Moreira said. “We had 33 points from our posts in 40 minutes. I’ll take that any day of the week. I truly think we have three of the 10 best post players in the conference. It’s a luxury to have all three.”
The Vandals have been tested early this season with a lot of good opponents so far and are hoping that the battles in November will help Idaho move forward throughout their season and into March.
“There’s going to be so many games this season where it’s going to come down to the wire,” Hassmann said. “Being the tougher team in that moment and being able to come up with big rebounds and knock down free throws is something we’re going to continue to face and really need to work on for later in March.”
The Vandals will be back in Idaho Central Credit Union Arena for two more home games, starting with a Friday night contest against the University of California, Riverside. Then on Sunday, they will host California State University, Northridge to conclude their four-game homestand, and they’re looking to finish strong.
The Vandals will tip off against Riverside on Friday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].