MOSCOW, Idaho—Senior Stacey Barr took control of the Idaho offense on Saturday lifting the Vandals to a 71-58 win over Eastern Washington in the Cowan Spectrum. Barr scored 20 second-half points and 30 in all to lift the Vandals to victory.
“Stacey got into the flow of the offense which was great,” head coach Jon Newlee commented. “She had a lot of shots, but she did not have to go one-on-one. She got into the open floor which was great.”
Idaho (9-10, 3-5) bucked the trend of recent history in the series against Eastern Washington. The last three games were decided by a total of nine points. Idaho used 32 points in the paint and strong showing from its bench to open the contest up in the second half. Karlee Wilson and Geraldine McCorkell combined to outscore EWU's bench 19-2.
“We came out ready to play,” Wilson said. “We talk about not wasting minutes and we knew every possession counted. I think we came out and gave them our best shot.”
Neither team attempted a free-throw in the first 20 minutes of play on Saturday. Idaho took advantage of the physical nature of the game, with 16 points in the paint. Barr started the game hot from behind the arc, hitting her first two 3-pointers. A layup from Barr 5:41 into the half gave the Vandals their largest lead of the opening period at 12-6. Eastern Washington climbed back to within one off a Jade Redmon jumper with 5:10 to play. A Hayley Hodgins three tied the score up at 23 two possessions later. McCorkell, Connie Ballestero and Ali Forde teamed up to give Idaho a 30-27 lead at the half. McCorkell snagged a rebound under the Vandals' basket with two seconds to play. She found Ballestero who hit Forde for a layup just before the light on the backboard flashed
EWU (11-8, 4-4) started the second half 0-for-4, while Idaho refused to miss. The Vandals opened up an 11-point lead in the first three minutes of the half, going on an 8-0 run. A Christina Salvatore triple reclaimed Idaho's double-digit lead ,45-35, with 12:14 remaining. The Eagles did not relent, pushing back with a 13-6 run over the next 3:44. A Redmon 3-pointer with 7:40 to play cut Idaho's lead down to three at 51-48. Barr, playing with a bandaged right elbow, hit two free-throws, sparking another 8-0 Idaho run. Barr finished 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.
“I thought we really attacked the rim [in the second half],” Newlee noted. “We did not have any free-throw attempts in the first half and we ended with 19 in the game. Big difference right there. We wanted to keep attacking the rim and getting the ball inside.
A pair of free-throw from Wilson sealed the deal for the Vandals. She extended Idaho's advantage to 18 points with 2:42 left to play. Idaho shot 16-of-19 as a team from the free-throw line, while EWU was just 9-of-13 at the other end of the court.
McCorkell finished as the team's second leading scoring with 11 on the day. Salvatore, Wilson and Ballestero each totaled eight. Salvatore and Brooke Reilly led the way on the glass with nine boards apiece. As a team Idaho outrebounded Eastern, 50-34.
“[This win] gives us a lot of confidence,” Wilson stated. “Even though they beat us once, we know we can come back and beat you. The win definitely boosts our confidence.”
Idaho will be back in action on Feb. 5 against Montana State. The Vandals will close the three-game homestand on Feb. 7 with a meeting against Montana.
NOTES
Barr moved into a tie for seventh on Idaho's all-time FGM list with 548 for her career…Idaho won its first game of the season in its silver uniforms…Barr has scored 30 or more points three times this season…she now has 12 20+ point games...Idaho has now hit a 3-point field goal in 217 consecutive games.
