The Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team headed into the locker room for halftime up by 16 points, but head coach Arthur Moreira was not pleased about the end of the half. After an animated halftime talk, the Vandals came out firing in the second half.
Behind a strong and balanced performance, the Vandals handled California State University Northridge 89-56 to move to 5-1, their best start since 2015-2016.
“There was a stretch there in the second quarter that I wasn’t very happy with how we were playing. I thought we got tired and then we became a little selfish,” Moreira said. “We had a good conversation about that in the locker room, used some more heated words and got the point across. I hope we never see that team again. The team we want to see is the one that played the rest of the 33 minutes of this game and then 30 minutes against Riverside.”
Idaho has been firing on all cylinders on the offensive end, and today was no different. The Vandals have scored over 75 points in every game this season and over 80 in four of their six games. They spread the ball effectively with six players scoring in double figures and finished with 61 rebounds and eight three-pointers as a team.
The star of the show was redshirt senior Lorena Barbosa, who finished with a career-high 18 points. Barbosa, a transfer from the University of San Francisco, has battled injuries throughout her career and is taking full advantage of her fresh start.
“I’m loving it. Coming back from injury from the past two years on my back, it feels good being on the floor again and with people that I love and people who care about me,” Barbosa said.
The Vandals and Matadors went back and forth early, with both teams knocking down shots in what was turning into a competitive battle until Idaho started to pull away.
Senior guard Mary McMorris nailed a right-wing three-pointer that catapulted a 7-0 run, capped off with a step-back jumper by junior guard Hope Hassmann that pushed the Vandals’ lead to 22-8.
The Vandals’ defense ramped up the pressure with full-court pressure that the Matadors couldn’t handle, leading to five turnovers in the opening quarter. Barbosa was huge for the Vandals on the offensive end, finishing with seven of her 18 points in the quarter. Her dominant paint presence helped Idaho’s offense get rolling as they took a 28-11 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, CSUN began to claw back and make the game close. The momentum was with them until senior guard Kyra Gardner drained a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining in the half to put the Vandals up 44-28.
The Vandals came out of the locker room fired up and ready to go on both ends of the floor. Their high-pressure defense and free-flowing explosive offense worked in sync as they outscored CSUN 30-21 in the third quarter. Barbosa had her best quarter with nine points to stretch the Vandals’ lead to 74-49.
From there, Idaho cruised to victory, improving to 4-0 at Idaho Central Credit Union Arena while looking to continue their home dominance throughout the season.
“You have to protect home court. It’s been our goal from the beginning of the season,” Moreira said. “I know it’s very hard to go undefeated for the whole year, but we want to go as close as possible. You want to win every game at home, and then you want to be able to steal some on the road, and then you have a pretty good season.”
The Vandals changed their style of play this season to operate at a faster pace and be more explosive on the offensive end, though their defense has suffered somewhat because of it. They have worked extra hard defensively over the last couple of weeks, trying to balance offense and defense.
In today’s game, they forced 14 turnovers, scored 18 points off turnovers, and made the Matadors’ offense work just to get the ball up the floor, is a positive sign that their defense is turning a corner.
“It’s been a big focus for us in practice,” said sophomore guard Ella Uriarte. “We’ve gotten a lot better moving as a unit. And if someone gets beat, stepping up and stepping up sooner. We knew that if Arthur gives us the freedom to be aggressive, if we think we can pick it, and so that’s what we did.”
Idaho will have a few days off to rest and recover before they head to Irvine, California, to participate in the University of California Irvine tournament. The Vandals will tip off against the University of Colgate on Friday, Nov. 28, at 4:30 p.m.