LOGAN, Utah ? The University of Idaho women's team battled hard against Utah State in a back-and-forth double-overtime game, but cold shooting in the extra periods doomed the Vandals in a 70-64 loss at Logan, Utah.
With the loss, Idaho slips to 11-13 overall and 8-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while Utah State moves to 13-12 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
“It was a good, hard-fought game,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said. “It was a battle and they just out-worked us ... The way we got to eight wins was by being tough and doing the little things and we kind of got away from those this weekend and it cost us.”
Idaho sophomore Yinka Olorunnife, the WAC rebound leader, finished the day with 18 points and 14 boards, but had her day cut short after a fifth foul with just over a minute left in the first overtime period. Junior Derisa Taleni put in 15 points, along with eight boards, two assists and four steals, while sophomore Rachele Kloke put 16 points and grabbed six boards.
When Olorunnife fouled out midway through the first overtime period, Idaho had a hard time on the boards and the Aggies made Idaho pay. For the game, Utah State out-rebounded Idaho 49-42 and had 19 offensive boards.
“Offensive rebounding for them really hurt us and (Danyelle) Snelgro was just jumping over our guards, shooting the ball and getting the rim,” Newlee said. “Our lack of effort on the glass killed us and cost us the game.”
After shooting a .417 clip in the second half, the Vandals couldn't seem to find the mark in the extra periods, as they hit just two of their 14 attempts, while Utah State hit five of its 14. The Vandals entered the game ranked second in the WAC in 3-point shooting, but were a WAC season-low 4-of-16 (.250) for the game, including 1-of-5 in overtime.
“We got a little passive and didn't take the ball up strong,” Newlee said. “We took the ball up on a few layups and tried to get fouled instead of taking it up strong and it cost us.”
Idaho countered its shooting troubles by creating scoring opportunities at the free throw line, where the Vandals hit 22 out of 26 attempts, compared to just 10-of-16 for Utah State. Kloke paced the Vandals with a perfect 9-of-9 day at the line, which is the third-best individual performance in the conference this season.
“Free throws were a big reason why we were ahead and we were holding the lead,” Newlee said. “They're huge inside, but they have a hard time guarding overall. They were fouling and we were doing a good job of getting to the line.”
The game was about as statistically even as it could get. Utah State held a 24-20 advantage in paint points and a 12-9 advantage in points off turnovers, while Idaho outscored the Aggies 12-11 in second-chance points and 16-13 off the bench. At the end of regulation, Utah State was shooting .386 from the field, while Idaho was at .362. The game featured 13 lead changes and 10 ties.
Idaho entered the half with a 23-21 lead after a tight first half and extended its lead all the way out to six points at 35-29 with 14:11 remaining, but the Aggies would come back to tie on a Shawnta Pope layup with 11:26 remaining at 37-37. From then on, the largest lead for either team was Idaho's 45-40 lead with 7:31 left ? and that five-point advantage lasted just 15 seconds. After Idaho's Taleni tied the game up at 53-53 with a layup at the 1:26 mark, the final 86 seconds were as tense as it gets, with the culmination being Olorunnife's block of Snelgro with four seconds to go to clinch overtime.
Utah State had three players finish in double-digits in scoring, with Snelgro leading the way at 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Ana Pares and Alice Coddington added 12 and 10, respectively, while Coddington snatched 14 rebounds.
The loss marked the first time this season Idaho has dropped back-to-back conference games. Pending Sunday's remaining games, Idaho could find itself in either a three-way tie for third place or a four-way tied for fourth place. The Vandals will just have one game next week, as they make the long trip to Honolulu to face Hawai'i.
