For the (22-5, 13-1) Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team, every game from here on out is a championship game on their quest for a regular season title. Midway through their 86-66 victory over the (6-20, 2-12) Portland State Vikings, the score was 34-32 and the teams were locked in a battle. Senior guard Kyra Gardner, who lit up ICCU Arena with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds, made a pivotal play on the defensive end to get Idaho going.
She read the pass, swiped the ball from the Vikings and ran the length of the court, finding freshman guard Katlin Kangur, who quickly passed it back to her for the layup. Idaho then locked down the Vikings the rest of the half, holding them scoreless for six minutes and taking a 42-32 lead into halftime, giving them the separation they needed to pull away in the end.
“Every game matters to us, and we all know what we want to do,” Gardner said. “We’re all locked in together; we push towards what we know we can do.”
Idaho had six players in double figures in the game and has won 11 games in a row, boasting an 11-1 record at ICCU Arena.
After a hot start that gave the Vandals a 27-19 lead heading into the second quarter, Portland State pushed back and made it a game. Redshirt senior Cici Ellington, freshman Hannah Chicken and sophomore Kyleigh Brown were the trio that kept the Vikings in the game as long as they could.
They combined for 47 points on the night, Ellington finished with 16 points and four rebounds, Chicken also added 16 points and four rebounds of her own, and Brown, who was harassed by Idaho’s defense throughout, still managed 15 points on 6-12 shooting, showcasing why she remains one of the Big Sky’s most dangerous scorers.
Idaho buckled down after the media timeout, building its lead to 10 heading into halftime.
“When you’re in the spot that we are in right now, everybody’s hunting for you,” head coach Arthur Moreira said. “You’ve got to be ready for everybody’s best game. There are no easy games on our schedule.”
Redshirt senior Debora dos Santos was Idaho’s hot hand in the first half. With her movement around the rim and soft touch, she scored nine of her 15 points before the break, finishing an efficient 7-10 from the floor while pulling in three rebounds.
Idaho came out of the locker room ready to put the game out of reach. The Vandals swiftly moved the ball around the perimeter, finding Ana Pinheiro at the high post, who found sophomore guard Ella Uriarte for a three-pointer, one of three she connected on in a night where she finished with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
With balanced offensive scoring from all three levels, Gardner led the way with eight points, connecting on two of her three three-point attempts. Sophomore guard Pinheiro recorded her second double-double as a Vandal, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while making her presence felt all over the floor and serving as the driving force on the defensive end.
Idaho has garnered national attention for its pace and offense, averaging 79.3 points per game, first in the Big Sky. But quietly, over the last few games, the Vandals’ defense has ramped up its intensity. Being more fundamentally sound and playing together as a unit, they have held every opponent in the month of February to 70 points or fewer, peaking at the right time with the tournament just two weeks away.
“From the beginning to now, we’ve been developing our defense,” Pinheiro said. “Right now, we’re very together, defense wise, closing gaps, and scouting wise, we are getting better every day.”
Junior guard Hope Hassmann capped a 31-point third quarter with an and-one, driving to the lane, finishing through contact and converting the free throw to give the Vandals a 73-54 lead heading into the final frame.
Hassmann ended with 13 points, three rebounds and five assists going a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line.
Idaho rode the wave of momentum and closed out the game for their 11th victory at ICCU Arena, the most wins in the arena’s five-year history. They are now just a few wins away from a regular season championship, their first since 2019.
“We’ve gotten to the top spot, but it’s a lot harder to stay there,” Moreira said. “Our girls know that we have a chance to do something special here, and we’re playing like it.”
Idaho will return to ICCU Arena to take on the 12-15, 6-8 Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m.