FARGO, N.D. ? For the second straight game, an Idaho freshman stepped up big, as Yinka Olorunnife dropped in 25 points for the Vandal women, but second-half fouls and turnovers helped North Dakota State (1-1) send Idaho (0-3) to its third straight defeat by an 85-64 margin.
After Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said that Idaho played too soft on defense in its first two games against Montana State and Portland, the Vandals came out much more aggressively on Friday?a little too aggressively, though?as the team picked up 30 total fouls and sent the Bison to the line 41 times resulting in 31 points.
“I think we were better defensively,” Divilbiss said. “We were way more aggressive than we've been, but you've got to be aggressive without fouling.
“We're playing hard and we're playing together, but we're just not playing smart yet.”
The Idaho defense was impressive in the second half, as it held NDSU to just six-of-31 shooting from the floor, but the Bison were 26-of-31 from the free throw line in the half.
In last weekend's game against Portland, true freshman Therese Riedel had a breakout game. This time, Olorunnife stole the show as she notched 25 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. She was nine-of-12 from the floor and six-of-10 from the free throw line.
“Yinka played extremely well off the bench,” Divilbiss said. “She's helping us get some balance inside.”
Sophomore Katie Madison had her best scoring day of the season with an 18-point, nine-rebound effort. Overall, Divilbiss said he was pleased with the way the team came on the road against another experienced squad.
“I think we really grew between last weekend and this weekend,” Divilbiss said. “I think we were a lot tougher mentally on defense.
“We got much better ball pressure, we were more patient offensively, we took much better shots and we moved better without the ball. We're starting to understand the game better every day.”
The Bison had four players score in double-digits, led by Lisa Bue's 20. All but one North Dakota State player made it to the free throw line and seven of the team's 11 players had at least four free throws.
Turnovers haunted the Vandals once again, as the team combined for 25 giveaways. Katie Schlotthauer, who played seven minutes, was the only Idaho player not to turn the ball over.
“We need to keep getting more experience,” Divilbiss said. “It's everybody, not just the point guards. We just have to keep teaching fundamentals and the kids have to buy into the fundamentals.”
One part of the game that the Vandals have yet to turn on is three-point shooting. Through three games this year, the Vandals are just 7-41 from the three-point line for a .171 average. Last season, the Vandals led the WAC with 5.36 three-pointers made per game, but Divilbiss said that the outside game isn't the one he wants the team to focus on right now.
“We've taken 41 three-pointers in the first three games, and that's just too many,” Divilbiss said. “We're not a three-point shooting team this year. You have to play to your strength.”
Divilbiss said that in his coaching experience, one of the last things that really comes along with freshmen during their first year of college basketball is their jumpshot.
Another factor in Idaho's outside shooting woes is that senior Sara Dennehy, the team's second-leading scorer from last season, has been limited so far this season after missing most of fall practice with a foot injury.
The game appeared to be a barnburner from the beginning, as the teams swapped scoring runs for the entire first half.
NDSU scored the first 10 points of the game, but Idaho followed it up with a 10-2 run to make it 12-10 Bison. NDSU followed it with eight straight, then Idaho went on another 10-2 run, followed immediately by an 11-2 NDSU run. The teams settled down for a bit late in the half, as Idaho outscored NDSU 7-4 from the 3:34 mark until the 1:47 mark to cut the lead to 37-29.
The final two minutes of the first half belonged to the Bison though, as they rattled off ten straight to end the half with the score 47-29.
The second half wasn't as exciting as the first, as teams combined for 28 fouls and 41 free throws. North Dakota State managed to hold the lead at around 18 points for the remainder of the half. Idaho came within 15 at one point, but that was close as the Vandals could get.
Idaho couldn't muster any sort of run like it had in the first half, mainly because fouls kept killing the team's momentum. Idaho baskets were commonly followed by a fouls and free throws for North Dakota State.
The Vandals outscored NDSU 40-28 in the paint and Idaho's bench outscored North Dakota State's by a margin of 36-22, but the Bison held a 23-14 margin in points off turnovers and an 18-15 margin in second-chance points.
Idaho's next stop on its first road trip is Seattle, Wash., where the team will take part in the Basketball Travelers Husky Classic. The Vandals will take on Washington on Friday, Nov. 23, and on Sunday, they'll play the winner of Friday's Arkansas State/Weber State game.
