SAN JOSE, Calif. ? The Idaho women might have been in sunny southern California, but their shooting was colder than the Moscow night air, as the Vandals fell to San Jose State Thursday by a 53-46 margin.
Nothing seemed to want to go in for the Vandals (2-16, 1-5 WAC), which had trouble around the basket all night and finished the game shooting just 18-of-55 (.327) from the field. The Spartans (2-16, 1-5 WAC) were slightly better at 19-of-50 (.380) from the field, including six-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc.
“We're all really disappointed,” Idaho coach Mike Divilbiss said. “We have higher expectations for ourselves.”
“You have to give San Jose State credit. They made the plays they had to make, but I think we had a big hand in us losing, too.”
The Vandals took a big hit before the game even started when they learned that Katie Madison, who had been day-to-day with an injury, would not play. It was the first missed game of Madison's career and it broke a streak of 44 consecutive starts for the sophomore.
True freshman Therese Riedel stepped in and started in Madison's place and put up a eight points and eight boards, but it would take more than one person to make up for her production. Through five Western Athletic Conference games prior to Thursday, Madison had averaged 17.8 points and six boards per game.
“On the one hand, we aren't going to sit here and make excuses about Katie not being there,” Divilbiss said. “On the other hand, our whole offense runs through that player. She creates a lot of offense not just with her scoring but with the opportunities she creates for other people.
“It's a real settling influence to know that she's going to get you 18-20 every night and when they do something to correct that, it's going to create scoring chances for other people. That's a lot to miss on a single night.”
Freshman Yinka Olorunnife led the way for the Vandals with 10 points and six rebounds. Freshman Alana Curtis was Idaho's second leading scorer at nine points. She also brought down a pair of rebounds, blocked a shot, dished out an assist and grabbed a couple steals.
Natalie White led the Spartans with 20 points, including four-of-six shooting beyond the arc, while Sayja Sumler scored 15 on seven-of-13 shooting and added eight rebounds.
Even though both teams turned the ball over early and often, neither was able to really take advantage of the mistakes, as the Spartans held just a 15-14 advantage in points of turnovers. Even with Madison on the bench, the Vandals held a 24-20 advantage in points in the paint and an 8-4 advantage in second-chance points.
It was a sloppy game right from the start, as the teams combined for five turnovers in the first three minutes. Neither team was able to build any momentum or put together any sort of run because each team turned it over so often. With the score 25-21 at the half in favor of the Spartans, each team had more turnovers than made field goals, as Idaho lost the ball 12 times and SJSU lost it 14 times.
The second half opened up much the same for the Vandals. On San Jose State's very first possession, over a 30-second span, the Spartans missed four straight shots, gathered four offensive rebounds and nailed an open jumper. While the Spartans appeared to settle down and play with more composure, the Vandals never really looked comfortable and were unable to threaten the SJSU lead.
“[The players]didn't make any excuses for not having Katie and they came in here to win a WAC road game,” Divilbiss said. “There's no question of effort for us and that's something I'm really proud of and I think that the kids should be really proud of.”
The next stop for the Vandals will be Honolulu, Hawai'i, where the Vandals will look to get their shooting touch back as they take on the Rainbow Wahine on Saturday at 9 p.m. (PST).
