LOGAN, Utah - All 28 of Rachele Kloke's points mattered but the three that mattered most came as time, literally, expired as the basketball slapped off the backboard and through the net to give the University of Idaho women's basketball team a 54-53 Western Athletic Conference victory over Utah State.

Idaho, now 9-18 overall and 7-7 in the WAC, desperately needed Kloke's monumental 3 after the Aggies tied the came on two free throws by USU's Alice Coddington with 2.1 seconds to play.

As Coddington went to the line to break the tie and give USU the lead, Idaho coach Jon Newlee huddled with his assistants to determine which of their under-five-second plays would work best. They settled on Shaena Kuehu handling the inbounds pass from the Aggie baseline because she'd shown the best ability to throw a baseball pass in practice. They parked center Yinka Olorunnife on the logo at halfcourt and settled Kloke on the right wing.

Kuehu ran the baseline until she had a clear path to Olorunnife, who grabbed the pass and immediately fired it to Kloke who was ready for the shot. Newlee said he knew the ball left Kloke's hands in time to beat the buzzer. What he wasn't sure was it would go through until it banked through.

"This game was unbelievable," said Newlee, whose team lost in similar fashion to the Aggies at home. "It's nice to be on the good end of a game with Utah State."

Newlee said the Vandals' ability to rebound with the taller Aggies, play sound defense and maintain their composure were the keys as they still struggled from the perimeter. Actually, everyone except Kloke who was four-of-seven from beyond the arc and, only moments before her game winner, had hit the 3 that tied the game 51 with nine seconds to play.

Idaho yielded just two offensive boards in the first half and only eight for the game as they managed to hold their own on the glass despite giving up inches at every position. Olorunnife, Kloke and Bianca Cheever each had seven rebounds as Idaho was out-rebounded just 42-40.

In addition to Kloke's 28, Olorunnife had eight points and Kuehu seven. Kuehu, however, made her presence known everywhere with eight steals to go with two assists.

Idaho returns to the Cowan Spectrum Wednesday night for a nationally televised game against Louisiana Tech. Tipoff is 8 p.m.