MOSCOW, Idaho - Emily Faurholt poured in a season-high 30 points and Leilani Mitchell scored 20 points as the University of Idaho women's basketball team defeated Gonzaga, 69-62.
Idaho evens its record at 2-2 with the win while Gonzaga falls to 1-5 on the season with the loss. The game ranks as the 10th largest in Idaho women's basketball history with 1,850 fans in attendance.
"They are best team we have played this year, no question," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "Even though Leilani and Emily put up 20 and 30 we still had a lot of other players contributing and being aggressive and playing in their roles. Karly (Felton) was outstanding playing within her role as a perimeter defender and (Emily) Halliday was making open shots and had a really good understanding of the defense."
Idaho began the game with the hot hand, using three 3-pointers to jump to an 11-7 lead at the 16:56 mark. The Vandals led 17-14 with 12:39 remaining when Gonzaga used a 12-2 run to go up 26-19 at the 7:56 mark. Idaho battled back to take a 31-30 lead in the final two minutes of the half before the two teams traded baskets to make the score 33-32 in favor of Idaho at halftime.
The Vandals began the second half with back-to-back buckets and later took a six-point lead with the score 42-36 at the 16:02 mark. Idaho's lead was again at six on two more occasions before the Bulldogs battled back to tie the game at 46-46 with 9:28 remaining. The teams battled to four ties and two lead changes over the next 5:37 before Mitchell put the Vandals ahead for good with a free throw, making the score 57-56 with 3:51 remaining. Idaho converted its final three shots of the game and converted 6-of-9 free throws down the stretch for the 69-62 victory.
This was the first breakout game of the season for Faurholt, who was second in the nation in scoring last season at 23.2 points per game. She had totaled 22, 12 and 18 points in her first three games.
"Everybody just being in their role and doing what they do best forced them to have to guard others. They couldn't leave Karly alone or MacKenzie (Flynn) alone and other players were doing their own thing and that was the difference," Divilbiss said.
The Vandals improved their shooting woes with a 22-of-45 (.489) performance from the floor, including 4-of-11 (.364) from beyond the 3-point arc. Mitchell added five rebounds, four assists and four steals to her season-high point total. Felton chipped in eight points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Idaho now will hit the road as the team heads to the Lady Pirate Invitational at Greenville, N.C. The Vandals match up with Drexel Saturday (Dec. 3) at 10 a.m.
