After being in control the entire first half, the Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team was in need of a run against the Sacramento State Hornets. The Hornets were finding momentum early in the third quarter, cutting the once 14-point lead to ten and counting.
That’s when the Vandals turned the ignition all the way up and went on a 10-0 run in the next three minutes to put the Vandals up 20 points and help them cruise to a 75-60 win over the Hornets. The win moves the Vandals to (23-5, 14-1), winning 12 in a row and 12-1 inside of ICCU Arena.
Idaho came out early and established their offense and defense, and behind electric play on both sides and foul trouble to key Hornet players, the Vandals jumped out to a 37-23 lead going to the locker room.
Idaho held the Hornets to seven points in the first quarter, their second lowest of the season, and were efficient shooting the ball for most of the first half.
Senior guard Benthe Versteeg, who had picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and sat the rest of the half, came out with energy. Her fresh legs led to a quick 4-0 burst by the Hornets to cut the lead to 37-27.
The next few possessions Idaho showed their intensity and team will to be a team of destiny. The Hornets, with the ball and trying to cut the lead to under double figures, made an entry pass that junior guard Hope Hassmann poked free for senior guard Kyra Gardner to pick up.
Hassmann got the ball back, went coast to coast, got the euro step layup to fall and made the ensuing free throw to fire up the ICCU Arena crowd.
Gardner, who was making her presence felt on both ends, blocked a shot on the other end leading to a sophomore guard Ana Pinheiro layup. Now with the Hornets on their heels, they drove the baseline and ran into a wall of Pinheiro and Gardner defensively. Gardner came away with the steal and ran the floor, finding Hassmann on the wing wide open, she drained a three-pointer to cap the 10-0 run and gave the Vandals a 47-27 lead.
“The energy is just unmatched,” Hassmann said. “It’s so fun playing in an atmosphere where you have so many people supporting you, so many people screaming your name. It’s just such a special feeling.”
Hassmann put on a show alongside her teammates. She finished the game with 22 points, shooting 9-16 from the field and connecting on one of her three attempts from beyond the arc, with 10 of her 22 points coming in the third quarter.
“I was just letting the game come to me and taking what they give me,” Hassmann said. “Obviously, getting points in the paint was something that was working, so why shy away from it? At each media timeout, we were really talking about getting to the paint and pushing the pace on offense and getting downhill. And I think that’s something that was really working for our whole team.”
Idaho had come into the game as one of the best rebounding teams in the country, averaging 47 rebounds per game, first in the Big Sky by a wide margin. However, the Hornets battled with them and, even though the Vandals outrebounded them 44-39, Sacramento State made it difficult by grabbing 17 offensive rebounds and making the Vandals work for every possession.
Redshirt senior Debora dos Santos was huge to the Vandals’ success down in the paint, grabbing her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds in another efficient performance off the bench.
“It was a tough battle, they were really hard to play against,” dos Santos said. “They were strong, you know. Last time we did a good job, so this time they came ready for that and they did a really good job.”
With 10 minutes to go, the Hornets were not going away and made a run of their own to cut into the lead, however Gardner, who had a special night on the floor, hit the dagger with 4:22 to go.
She dribbled along the perimeter, found sophomore guard Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva, who found her back in the corner, and Gardner rose up and knocked down a three-pointer to put the Vandals back up 17.
Gardner had a complete night on both ends, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals, with 10 of her 13 points coming in the first half to give the Vandals a boost before the rest of the team caught fire.
For the Hornets, Versteeg, who was limited most of the first half due to foul trouble, rattled off 12 of their 20 third-quarter points and finished with 19. Sophomore guard Rubi Grey added 13.
Idaho will now hit the road for their final road trip of the season and take on the (10-18, 6-9) Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m.
“You got to focus on the now, we’re competing for something,” head coach Arthur Moreira said. “It’s different, let’s say we’re stuck in third place and there’s nothing more to play for, maybe the mindset is a little different. NAU is the most important game of the year right now.”