MOSCOW ? Five Idaho players scored in double digits, the team shot 46.6 percent from the field and the Vandal women dominated the paint to give head coach Jon Newlee his first win at Idaho on Tuesday night at Memorial Gym.
The Vandals (1-3) used offensive balance and smart shot selection to take down Eastern Washington (1-2) by a 80-70 score.
“We keep telling them we're not a one-person team,” Newlee said. “Everyone has to be able contribute when they get their chance on the floor and I think tonight you saw that. We were very unselfish, we passed the ball well and we really attacked the rim.”
The Vandal women drove early and often and shredded the EWU defense for 38 points in the paint ? a total that doesn't include the many points from the free throw line that resulted from those drives, as well.
Junior Derisa Taleni led the way for Idaho, as she dropped 18 points with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. Sophomore Yinka Olorunnife shot six-of-12 from the floor and finished with 17 points, nine boards, four steals and a career-high three blocks. Freshman Shaena-Lyn Kuehu provided a spark off the bench as she scored 15 and pulled down eight boards, including six on the offensive end. Sophomore Rachele Kloke had a career-high eight rebounds to go with 13 points, two assists and one steal, while junior Charlotte Otero scored 12 with four rebounds, six assists and three steals.
“We have athletic kids who do a good job off the bounce at getting to the rim,” Newlee said. “I think tonight really showed what we can do offensively when everybody's clicking together.”
Idaho's 80 points are the most this season and the most since the team scored 83 in a triple-overtime win over New Mexico State in 2007. The point total is the most Idaho has scored in a regulation game since an 80-62 win over San Jose State on Feb. 9, 2006.
As for the difference in the Idaho team that scored 36 points in a loss to Montana just one week ago? The answer was easy for Taleni, who leads the team this season with a 15.3 points-per-game scoring average.
“It has to do with practice,” Taleni said. “We came into practice focused. We knew we should have beaten Montana. We had our gameplan out, but we just came up too short.
“We moved the ball around and we knew not to take early shots in the shot clock and I think that just helped us today ? just moving the ball around and getting everybody touches.”
For Newlee, the biggest difference in Tuesday's win was that the team did a better job of playing to its strengths.
“Our athleticism really won the game tonight,” Newlee said. “You could see the difference. Our guards were flying in. Shaena and Alana (Curtis) did a great job on the offensive glass and I think our overall athleticism got it done tonight.”
Idaho shot .466 (27-of-58) from the floor on the night, while EWU was 26-of-62 for a .419 average. Idaho also shot four-of-10 from the 3-point line, while the Eagles were just five-of-23. The key came at the free-throw line, where Idaho hit 22-of-34, compared to 13-of-15 for the Eagles.
Now that the Vandals have taken “a big monkey off our back,” according to Newlee, they will try to build on Tuesday's momentum with a two-game road trip to the Courtyard by Marriot San Luis Obispo Holiday Beach Classic tournament, where they will face Cal Poly and CSU-Bakersfield on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
“We can win now,” Taleni said. “We know what it takes to win and we know how hard we've got to play.”
