RENO, Nev. ? The University of Idaho women's basketball team held a 10-point lead early in the second half in a Western Athletic Conference matchup at Nevada, but the Vandals went ice-cold from then on and fell by a 69-53 margin.
“I'm disappointed ? disappointed in our defensive and rebounding efforts tonight,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said. “They really out-worked us and we didn't handle their pressure.”
For the first 27 minutes of the game, the Idaho (11-12, 8-4 WAC) women shot lights-out from the floor and built up a 47-43 lead, but from then on, Nevada (14-11, 8-4 WAC) outscored the Vandals 22-10.
Idaho made 18 of its first 34 shots for a .529 clip through the 13:20 mark of the second half, but the Vandals made just two of their final 10 over the last 6:40 of the game and also turned it over 11 times during that span.
“They started putting a lot of defensive pressure on us and we had some people panic with the ball,” Newlee said. “I tried calling a couple time-outs to calm them down, but they're a bunch of young players who haven't been in that situation before.
“The crowd was rowdy and got (Nevada) going and it all just kind of snow-balled. I'd love to have that kind of support at our place.”
The key stat of the day was rebounding. Prior to Thursday, the undersized Idaho team had held its own among the taller, more physical teams of the conference, but the Wolf Pack nearly doubled Idaho's production on the boards. Nevada finished the game with 43 total rebounds ? 19 on the offensive end, compared to just 23 for Idaho. The result was 16 second-chance points and a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Junior Derisa Taleni led all scorers on the day with a 23-point performance that also included five rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals. Sophomore Yinka Olorunnife earned her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards, as well as four steals, two assists and one block, while sophomore Alana Curtis hit 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished with 12 points, a pair of assists and a pair of blocks.
Idaho came out strong in the first half with a .480 shooting performance from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, to go up 31-27 at the break. Nevada came out in the second half with a zone to try to throw Idaho off, but a pair of Curtis 3-pointers to start the second period extended Idaho's lead out to 10 right off the bat.
“They came out in a zone, which we didn't think we'd see against a team like Nevada, but they couldn't guard us for most of the first half,” Newlee said. “Alana really shot the ball with confidence in the second half and really shot them out of that zone and back into man.”
Idaho's lead hovered between four and six points for the next five minutes, when Nevada started finding open looks and Idaho started making mistakes. Nevada opened up a 16-0 run from 13:20 to the 4:58 mark that Taleni broke with a free throw, followed by a 3-pointer, but it was too late by then.
Idaho shot .455 (20-44) from the field for the game, but attempted 20 fewer shots than Nevada, which finished the game with a .406 (26-64) clip. Both teams shot the deep ball well, as Idaho hit eight of 18 (.444) and Nevada hit five out of 12 (.417).
Nevada's leading scorer on the day was Dellena Criner, who put in 19 points and dished eight assists. Kayla Williams had 11 points and seven boards, while Johnna Ward added 10 points and four rebounds.
Idaho's next stop on its current road trip will be Logan, Utah, was the Vandals will take on Utah State. The Aggies are 5-5 in conference play and 11-12 overall prior to their Friday game at Boise State. Idaho beat the Aggies in the first bout between the two teams on Jan. 5, by a 71-63 margin.
“We've got to forget about this one in some respects,” Newlee said. “We've got to focus in and get a split on the road.
“It's not going to be any easier in Logan. They're just as big and physical, so we're going to have to do a much better job of blocking out and finding people.”
