MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho women's basketball team needed overtime to defeat Boise State University, Sunday, in the Cowan Spectrum.
Leilani Mitchell sank two free throws with seven seconds remaining in the overtime period to seal the 81-78 victory for the Vandals (2-0). The Broncos (0-2) had a shot to send the game to another OT, however a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short.
"This game was all about heart," said Vandal head coach Mike Divilbiss. "I had been telling (our team) the entire game Boise State was playing harder than we were. For a large part of that game, Boise State deserved the outcome to be different. I was very impressed with (Boise State's) level of intensity and how hard they played."
The two teams exchanged blows throughout a first half that saw six ties and nine lead changes. Lauren Frazee hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Vandals a 37-36 halftime lead.
Five minutes into the second half, the score was tied at 43. Boise State took over at that point and held the lead for the next 13 minutes. A lay-in by Jaime Hawkins at the 6:47 mark gave the Broncos a nine-point margin at 62-53, the highest of the game for either team. The Vandals slowly chipped away at the lead and went on a 19-7 run capped by a Heather Thoelke 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining to give Idaho a 72-69 edge. Jodi Nakashima responded with a 3-pointer of her own on the Broncos ensuing possession to tie the game at 72 with 22 seconds left. Thoelke missed a runner in the lane with 3 seconds remaining and the teams headed to overtime tied, 72-72.
"Our players showed hearts of champions in the last seven minutes of the game," Divilbiss said. "In those last seven minutes we stopped giving up second chances and we started playing a lot better. I was very pleased."
The Vandals struck first in overtime when Karly Felton hit a 3-pointer to give Idaho a 75-72 lead. The Broncos cut the lead to one on their next possession before the two teams exchanged turnovers and missed shots. Mitchell hit a free throw with 1:29 remaining to put the Vandals ahead by two, but the Broncos responded quickly with a Hawkins jumper to tie the game at 76 with 1:10 remaining. On Idaho's next possession, Thoelke found Felton on a back cut and she was able to lay it in with 50 seconds remaining to grab a lead the Vandals would not relinquish again. Three free throws for Idaho and two for Boise State over the final 50 seconds of the game made the final 81-78.
"This game was very physical and very aggressive. We are going to have a lot of these types of games and we are OK with that. Boise State threw a lot of junk at us to keep the ball out of Emily's (Faurholt) hands and they stuck to their plan very well. We need all of our players to step up and make plays and we got big plays from them at the end of the game. They hit big shots and grabbed key rebounds to really help us win this game. We are not going to be a good basketball team if Heather, Emily and Leilani are the only players on our team who score."
The Vandals had four players in double-figures, including Faurholt who led all scorers with 23 points. Mitchell was behind her with 22 points, but also added eight steals, six rebounds, and six assists. Thoelke finished with 12 points and five assists and Felton added 10 points and six rebounds. Summers was Idaho's leading rebounder with nine.
Idaho will next head to Honolulu, Hawai'i, to take part in the Rainbow Wahine Classic at the University of Hawai'i. The Vandals will draw No. 5 Georgia in the first round and are guaranteed three games in the tournament. The game versus Georgia will be played Friday (Nov. 26) at 12:30 p.m. PT.
