SPOKANE, Wash. - The Idaho women's basketball team was able to withstand Gonzaga's first punch, but a 15-0 run to close the first half was too much for the Vandals to overcome, as Gonzaga cruised to a 93-62 victory at the McCarthy Center Friday night.
The Vandals trailed 38-32 with 5:49 to play in the first half before GU went on its decisive run. The Bulldogs seemingly couldn't miss in the first half, shooting 68.6 percent on the half on 24-of-35 from the field.
"That was an unbelievable shooting display in the first half," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "They definitely got open looks and they made us pay. It felt like more than 68 percent, it felt like 98 percent. They've got a lot of weapons. They've got a lot of ways they can hurt you, and you can't just key on a couple of them."
The Vandals were able to cut down on turnovers, giving up the ball 14 times, nearly five less than their season average heading into the contest, but Gonzaga took advantage, finishing the game with 27 points off turnovers. The Bulldogs also had 20 second-chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds.
"They made us pay for every turnover and for every offensive board we gave up," Newlee said. "We were actually taking decent care of the basketball, but we turned it over on top, and when you turn it over on top against these guys, it's over."
Idaho shot 41.4 percent from the field, knocking down 24-of-58 shots, including 4-of-12 3-pointers, but the Vandals were out-rebounded 42-24.
"Things were kind of moving, we got some good shots and knocked them down," Newlee said. "From an offensive standpoint, I thought it was all pretty good. But we're not going to out-score these guys, that's just not going to happen."
Derisa Taleni led Idaho with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Rachele Kloke had 14 points, three rebounds and two steals for the Vandals, and Ganeaya Rogers finished with six points, five assists and three steals.
Yinka Olorunnife had eight points and six rebounds for Idaho, while Keri Arendse and Adrie Shiels each chipped in with five.
The Bulldogs were led by 18 points and 10 assists from Courtney Vandersloot, and got 23 points and nine rebounds from Katelan Redmon, and 21 points from Kayla Standish.
The Vandals will return to action on Dec. 23 when they visit Saint Mary's. Idaho is in the midst of a five-game road trip, including three games at West Coast Conference opponents, and will return to Moscow on Jan. 10 to take on Fresno State.
