It was all tied up with just over a minute to go in overtime between the two top teams in the Big Sky Conference, the Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team and the Montana State Bobcats, and only one could leave the gym victorious. The Vandals were flying down the court after a missed shot. Senior guard Kyra Gardner found sophomore guard Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva in the corner, and she drove into the lane.
She took some contact, made the basket and followed with the free throw to give the Vandals the lead. Idaho made all the plays down the stretch and got a 73-70 win over Montana State, improving to (18-5, 9-1) and taking sole possession of first place.
Leading up to that crucial and-one, overtime was not going well for the Vandals. Though they led for 35 minutes of the game, the Bobcats jumped out to a 66-61 lead early in the period.
The Vandals didn’t quit, and after a dos Santos three-point play, the Vandals trailed by two. Junior guard Hope Hassmann, who had been held in check most of the night, wasn’t going to be denied. She drove down the lane with a full head of steam, got the foul and went to the line where she knocked down the game tying free throws.
From there the Vandals outscored the Bobcats 7-4 and behind late free throws from Hassmann and sophomore guard Ella Uriarte the Vandals walked away from ICCU Arena with the win.
Idaho was led by Kyra Gardner, who finished with 18 points on 5-12 shooting from the field. She connected on four of her seven three-point attempts while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Redshirt senior Debora dos Santos and Passos Alves da Silva each finished with 14 points. Dos Santos also pulled in 17 rebounds, while Passos Alves da Silva pulled in seven of her own.
In a game where every point, minute, and player mattered, the Vandals stepped up when the moment got the biggest.
“Big games come with pressure. This is the type of game that we all want to play and coach in,” head coach Arthur Moreira said. “This team is special, you know? We win together; we lose together. We’re all happy for each other, and it was great.”
Dos Santos echoed that statement and is ready for the next challenge.
“We are really happy now, but now we just focus on the next game,” dos Santos said. “Because we have really tough teams. Happy, but focus for the next one.”
After last Saturday’s win over Northern Arizona, Moreira wrote just one thing on the whiteboard in the locker room: ’99-66.’ The message was clear: that wasn’t the Idaho Vandals who showed up in Bozeman on Jan. 10 and lost to the Bobcats by 33, and they were out to prove it.
As people piled into Idaho Central Credit Union Arena, the Vandals’ focus never shifted, and they knew they were in for a 40-plus-minute dogfight.
The game began with both teams going back and forth, with Idaho holding an 8-7 lead. That is when freshman guard Katlin Kangur brought life into ICCU Arena. Kangur, who played mostly mop-up time in the blowout loss to the Bobcats, has been thrust into a bigger role due to an injury to senior guard Mary McMorris, an opportunity she has taken full advantage of.
“KK came in as a freshman on a good team. She wasn’t playing a lot early in the season. She had a little doubt about it,” Moreira said. “Then, we had an injury to Mary, and KK was ready. She took advantage of it, and now I can’t imagine our rotation without her.”
Kangur didn’t score in the game, but she found ways to affect it. With Idaho holding that one-point lead, she tracked down the rebound and raced up the floor, spotting Passos Alves da Silva in the process. She threw a perfect pass in stride, which Passos Alves da Silva laid in to give the Vandals a three-point game.
Kangur then, a few possessions later, read the Bobcats’ pressure and dumped off a pass to dos Santos, who connected on a layup to put the Vandals up seven and helped them take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Idaho’s momentum continued, and their excellent defense, led by sophomore guard Ana Pinheiro, held national player of the week Taylee Chirrick to 3-14 shooting. Gardner knocked down two three-pointers, and the Vandals led 32-28 at halftime.
The third quarter is when Gardner came alive, scoring 12 of her 18 points. She connected on two more three-pointers and gave the Vandals offense on a night when it was needed.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get those shots if it wasn’t for my teammates,” Gardner said. “They created the shot for me to be open. It felt really good.”
The Bobcats outscored the Vandals in the quarter 19-17, and the Vandals took a 49-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
The game went back and forth. However, the Bobcats showed their poise, and sophomore forward Addison Harris got around the Vandals’ defense and made the layup, sending the game to overtime where the Vandals prevailed.
Idaho carries their seven-game winning streak into a matchup with the 7-15, 4-7 Montana Grizzlies, who the Vandals defeated 67-50 in Missoula on Jan. 8. Idaho and Montana will tip off from ICCU Arena on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.