MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho women's basketball used a strong defensive effort in the second half to overcome a sluggish start and lift themselves to a 68-60 victory over visiting UC Irvine.
The game rounded out the first half of the conference season and with a 12-6 overall record and 7-2 conference record the Vandals are off to their best conference start in the Big West and the best start in any conference play since the 1985-86 season when Idaho went 9-2 to begin Mountain West Conference play.
The first half of Saturday's game was a back-and-forth battle for the two teams. The Vandals built a quick five-point lead in the first three minutes, only to see the lead drop to one point before building it back up to as many as seven with a 15-8 score at the 13:49 mark. The Anteaters (2-15, 1-8) then went on a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead before the Vandals tied it up at 17-17 with 10:41 remaining. The UC Irvine run would continue, however, as they would score the next eight points to put themselves ahead 25-17 at the 7:15 mark. Idaho cut the deficit to four points, but UC Irvine responded to go back up eight at 33-25 with 3:06 remaining. The Vandals were able to close the half on an 8-3 run, however, to trail by just three at the half, 36-33.
The Anteaters shot 15-of-27 (.556) in the first half while the Vandals missed all seven of their 3-PT attempts.
"We saw Irvine play a good game against Utah State on Thursday so we expected a good game from them tonight. They are a very talented team and we were not surprised with the way they battled in the first half," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said.
The start of the second half saw Idaho make a quick 3-PT shot to tie the game and the Vandals would continue on a 12-2 run to take a 45-38 lead with 16:07 remaining. The two teams remained close for the next eight minutes and the Anteaters used two free throws to cut the deficit to 54-52 with 8:13 remaining. That was the closest the visitors would get for the remainder of the contest, however, as the next seven points belonged to the Vandals and the lead was built back to nine with 5:58 remaining. The Anteaters fought back to within four points at the 3:00 mark, however Idaho used free throw shooting to outscore UC Irvine 7-3 for the remainder of the game.
The Vandals held the Anteaters to just 8-of-29 (.276) shooting and caused 11 turnovers in the second half.
"All of us knew in the back of our minds that tonight's game was going to be a very tough game," Divilbiss said. "The lack of energy in the dome compared to Thursday night could be felt before the game even started. It took a great physical, mental and emotional effort Thursday night, no question, and that will take a lot out of you. We would like to call it up and play like that every night, but it took a lot for us in this game and I was proud of the way the team responded in the second half. Our team really stepped up and gutted this one out."
Emily Faurholt led all scorers with 31 points and Leilani Mitchell was the only other Vandal to score in double-figures as she finished with 14 points, nine assists, and four steals. Jessica Summers scored just six points on the night, but her contribution came on the defensive end as she finished with 10 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks.
Melissa Jacob used 6-of-11 (.545) 3-PT shooting to score a career-high 28 points for the Anteaters.
"Jessica played a very good game defensively in the second half," Divilbiss said. "She had a few little mental breakdowns in the first half, but they were all small things you expect a freshman to do sometimes, especially after such a big and emotional game Thursday. Jessica responded very well and I am very proud of her. She is really becoming a force on the defensive end and as a rebounder."
The Vandals will continue their four-game homestand with two games next week at the Cowan Spectrum. Idaho will match up with UC Santa Barbara Thursday and Cal Poly Saturday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
