ANAHEIM, Calif. - Emily Faurholt took an inbounds pass from Leilani Mitchell with 2.3 seconds remaining and drained a left-handed jumper as time expired to give the University of Idaho (19-10) women's basketball team a 69-67 victory over Long Beach State (19-9) Friday.
The win sends the Vandals to their second-consecutive Big West Tournament Championship game where they will meet top-seeded UC Santa Barbara Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
Idaho fought to a 33-31 halftime lead, which was quickly taken away by the 49ers as the second half began. The two teams remained close and the game saw five lead changes and four ties in the final four minutes. The final tie came with 22 seconds remaining as Mitchell sliced through the lane for a lay in to knot the score at 67-67. Long Beach State had possession and looked to have the last shot, but Mitchell caused a turnover with five seconds remaining to give Idaho the possession. As she streaked down the court the opposite direction, the ball was knocked out from behind and went out of bounds under the Idaho basket with 2.3 seconds remaining, setting up Idaho for the final shot.
"I was very excited when I saw (Long Beach State) line up with only one person on Emily," Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said. "When I saw that, I knew we were going to get a shot because of the way the play is designed. Had they lined up with two people on Emily, I would have called a time out and we would have ran a different play."
Faurholt caught the lob as she backed to the free-throw line, dribbled once to the left and pulled up from 12 feet with her opposite hand. Her shot fell with zeroes on the clock and she was met at the free throw line by players, coaches and fans who huddled in celebration.
"Leilani lobbed the ball to me and I drove," Faurholt said of her game-winning basket. "I didn't do anything spectacular. It's just a shot I have practiced, a shot we have all practiced, and I just got the opportunity to take it."
Faurholt finished the game with 35 points.
The game began with a Long Beach State basket, but Faurholt scored the next five points and Idaho built a lead it would hold the remainder of the first half. Faurholt hit a 3-point shot with 10:08 remaining in the half to score her 17th point and give Idaho its largest lead of the half at 25-15. The Vandals had trouble scoring after that as two free throws in the midst of a 12-2 Long Beach State run was all Idaho could manage as the 49ers tied the game at 27-27 with 2:22 remaining. Faurholt scored the next four points after the tie to end the half with 23 and Aisha Hollins hit a jumper with eight seconds remaining to pull Long Beach State to within 33-31 at the half.
Petra Glaser scored LBSU's first six points of the second half and the 49ers built a 37-33 lead two minutes in. Idaho fought back to tie the score at 39-39 with 15:57 remaining, but the Vandals could not regain the lead until Heather Thoelke hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 to put Idaho up 53-52. Long Beach State took the lead back on its next possession before Faurholt surpassed 30 points with a jumper at the 5:02 mark to tie the game at 55-55. Long Beach State scored the next basket and Mitchell responded with a 3-pointer to give Idaho a lead. Candice Wilson responded on the next 49er possession by banking in a 3-pointer of her own to put LBSU back on top. Faurholt hit 33 points and tied the game at 60-60 with a jumper on Idaho's next trip down the floor and a steal and lay in from Karly Felton gave the Vandals a two point lead. Jayme Connors used a 3-point play to put the 49ers back on top and two free throws from Aisha Hollans put Long Beach State up 65-62 with 1:43 remaining. Idaho's next possession resulted in a turnover, but Ticey Westbrooks tapped the ball away from Wilson in transition and the Vandals recovered without giving up a basket. The move proved to be critical as the ensuing possession resulted in Mitchell draining a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining to tie the game at 65-65. Glaser hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to score Long Beach State's final points of the afternoon before Idaho's heroics won the game 69-67 at the buzzer.
"The thing that makes the post season so fun and so special is knowing once you lose you are done," Divilbiss said. "I had been fighting the urge all day to reflect on the season and think of what I was going to say if our season ended today. I kept telling myself 'our season is not ending,' but things kept popping into my head all day and I knew the one thing I wanted to say in this room, win or lose, is how proud I am of these players. Our coaching staff could never be more proud of a group of players than we are of this group."
Faurholt scored her 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting, which included 2-of-3 from the 3-PT line and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Leilani Mitchell finished with 15 points, seven assists and four steals and Heather Thoelke added 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Despite adding only a combined five points, Karly Felton and Ticey Westbrooks contributed in other ways as Felton led the team with eight rebounds and Westbrooks dished out six assists.
Four of the five Idaho starters played 40 minutes with the fifth playing 36 minutes.
Hollans led the four 49ers in double-figures with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Crystal McCutcheon added 12 points while Glaser and Wilson each chipped in 10 points. Conners finished with eight points but grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss.
Saturday's championship game versus UC Santa Barbara will begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live in the Anaheim area on Fox Sports Net West 2.
