SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Four Vandal players scored in double figures, but a hot-shooting first half by the Cal Poly Mustangs was too much for Idaho to overcome as they fell 72-69, Thursday.
Cal Poly (7-3, 2-1) opened the first half connecting on its first six shots and jumped to a 15-5 lead four minutes into the game. The Vandals (6-5, 1-1) fought back to tie the game at 24-24 with six minutes remaining, however the Mustangs closed the half on a 15-4 run to lead 39-28 at the half. Cal Poly shot 17-of-25 (.680) from the floor in the half, including 5-of-6 (.833) from beyond the 3-PT line while Idaho connected on just 9-of-29 (.310) of its shots from the floor in the half.
The second half was a story of the run as Idaho started the streaks with an 18-10 run to pull within three points at 49-46. Cal Poly took its turn with an 8-2 run to go ahead 57-48, but the Vandals answered with a 9-2 to pull within two points at 59-57. Cal Poly then went on an 8-2 run, but Idaho again answered, this time with a 10-2 run capped by a Karly Felton 3-PT shot that tied the game at 69-69 with just under two minutes remaining. Courtney Cameron answered for Cal Poly with a tough leaner in the lane to put the Mustangs ahead 71-69 and Idaho turned the ball over on its next possession. The Vandals were then looking for a Mustang turnover and let the clock run to 13 seconds before being forced to foul. Sparkle Anderson went to the line for Cal Poly and connected on one of her two free throws, forcing the Vandals to shoot a 3-PT shot on their final possession. Heather Thoelke split the Mustang defense, but her attempt fell short as time expired.
"Our players battled really hard and I was proud of their effort," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "We made (Cal Poly) look awfully good in the first half because we did not defend well at all. Some of that is my fault because we tried to have players do some different things and make some adjustments that they weren't able to do. In the second half, our players responded very well. They came out with some fire, but it is really hard to dig ourselves out of an 11-point hole against one of the upper-level teams in the conference."
Idaho was led by Emily Faurholt, who scored a game-high 26 points. Felton scored a career-high 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the 3-PT line, Thoelke added 11 points and Mitchell scored 10 points, all in the final eight minutes of the game.
"It is still early in the conference race and we are starting with three in a row on the road," Divilbiss said. "Any win on the road in this conference will be very valuable and Saturday will certainly not be any easier."
Idaho will now head to Santa Barbara, Calif., where they will take on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, Saturday, at 2 p.m. PT.
