POCATELLO, Idaho—Jon Newlee's return to Reed Gym and Idaho State was not at all how he had hoped it would go. His Vandals fell on Thursday night to Idaho State, his former team, 71-50. Idaho went into a scoring drought late in the first half and were unable to fight back after trailing by five points at the half.
“We did not do anything we talked about tonight,” Newlee discussed postgame. “We had a lack of effort and a lack of intensity. We were certainly rusty after the break. I have seen games go like this if you do not play after Christmas. Idaho State played a couple of days ago and we have been off for 11 days. But you are not going to win any game with that kind of effort.”
The Vandals held the lead for a majority of the first half, twice opening up a seven point spread. Stacey Barr got the night started for the Vandals hitting a short jumper on Idaho's first possession. Ali Forde hit her second career three-pointer to break a 2-2 tie with just over two minutes played. Further into the half she gave the Vandals a 17-10 lead with 12:33 to play in the half. Idaho struggled for the remainder of the half, allowing Idaho State take the lead on a 13-4 run. The Bengals closed the half outscoring Idaho 22-10 in the final 11:11. Forde and Connie Ballestero each finished the first 20 minutes 3-of-5 from the floor, good for 7 points each.
Idaho State (6-6) got out to a 10-point lead three minutes into the second half at 40-30. Newlee took a timeout with 16:58 to play to try regroup his squad. Karlee Wilson drilled a three on Idaho's first possession out of the short break and Forde followed with a layup to cut the Bengal lead to 40-35 with 16:06 to play.
Idaho (6-6) suffered an offensive blow when Christina Salvatore picked up her fourth personal foul with 15:06 left in the half. Salvatore, puzzled by the call was awarded a technical foul, sending her to the bench the remainder of the game with five personal fouls. With their second-leading scorer no longer available the Vandals missed their next six shots. A Ballestero jumper broke the Idaho slump, now trailing 46-37 with 12:13 to play.
The Silver and Gold shot just 7-of-32 over the final 20 minutes. ISU on the other hand hit 15 of its 32 attempts from the floor. Idaho finished the night 27.3 percent shooting (18-for-66) and 34.8 percent from three-point range (8-for-23). The Bengals were 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from regulation. Ballestero and Forde were the lone Vandals to hit double-digit scoring with 12 and 10, respectively. Apiphany Woods led ISU with 19 points, as four of its five starters hit double figures.
“Hats off to ISU,” Newlee added. “They shot the ball as well as they have all year. Woods really lit it up and we did not do a great job of guarding her in that first half.
Idaho falls to 3-5 on the road this season. The team will remain on the road for its next two conference games, starting on Saturday at Weber State.
“You cannot win on the road if you do not keep your composure,” Newlee noted. “We have to learn how to handle the adversity better. I was a bit disappointed in that since we have been in bigger venues and faced adversity. We will talk and go back to the drawing board. Tonight was just game number one of 18.”
The Vandals will faceoff with Weber State (5-7) in a Saturday matinee. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 20-16. The two schools have not met since 2007, Idaho's last win came in 2003.
Notes:
Newlee remains at 99 career wins at Idaho...the Vandals New Year Day record evens out at 1-1, last playing to a 64-59 win over Sacramento State (Jan. 1, 1993)…Idaho's seven assists ties for lowest of the season…Idaho's FG percentage (27.3) was the lowest of the season…the Vandals have hit at least one three-pointer in 2011 consecutive games.
