PULLMAN, Wash. ? It was the same old story for the Idaho (0-6) women's basketball team Wednesday night at Washington State (2-4), as the Vandals turned it over 26 times?22 in the first half alone?and lost to the Cougars, 67-49.
Idaho sophomore Katie Madison broke out of her recent scoring slump and put up 20 points on nine-of-13 shooting, but the other 12 Idaho players were just 10-of-44 (.227) from the field and added just 29 points.
What made it hard to handle was the fact that many of the Idaho misses were open, makeable shots that simply would not go in. Idaho head coach Mike Divilbiss said the players need to learn to put those things behind them and not let the adversity affect their play.
“I think we let the outcome of one possession affect the next,” Divilbiss said. “If we make a mistake and turn the ball over, we don't just have one turnover, we have seven. We have to find a way to get that stopped.”
Turnovers stung the Vandals once again, as a sloppy first half led to 22 turnovers in 20 minutes. Those turnovers created 28 of Washington State's 41 first-half points. More than half the Cougars' points in the game?34 total?came as a result of Idaho turnovers.
With the game at a tight 22-15 score just under the eight-minute mark, the Cougars went on a 19-4 run that would put the game out of reach. Madison hit a layup at 7:54 and Yinka Olorunnife added a pair of free throws made it 25-19 WSU, but then the Cougars made seven unanswered baskets and Idaho didn't score again until Sara Dennehy made a layup with 1:09 remaining in the half.
The game quickly went from a close 16-13 score at the 10:29 mark to an insurmountable 41-21 margin at the half.
“We're going to keep working at it, keep getting better and keep growing,” Divilbiss said. “We're really young, but we've got to start making some choices here.”
The Cougars were led by Katie Appleton, who hit four of her first five three-pointers and ended the game with 24 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the field with five steals and five rebounds.
One positive for Idaho was that the team cut down on the fouls. After the team's two previous opponents each made more than 30 trips to the free-throw line, WSU had just six.
The Vandal women return home Saturday to play the early game of a men's and women's doubleheader at the Cowan Spectrum. The women play North Dakota State at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time in a rematch from two weeks ago, while the men play Idaho State 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
