MOSCOW, Idaho—For the first time since the start of the 2010-11 season the Idaho Vandals defeated the Montana Lady Grizzlies. Senior Christina Salvatore's double-double helped propel the Vandals past the Griz, 78-61, Thursday night in front of a home crowd of 1,021.
“The energy the student section brought—I do not think they sat down once—gave us a lot of energy and motivation,” Salvatore praised after the win. “It was different tonight. It was fun.”
Idaho (13-5, 5-1 BSC) shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range, hitting 13 3's in all. Salvatore scored all 15 of her points from long-range. She finished 5-for-9 from 3, adding 10 rebounds for her fourth-career double-double.
“It has been a while since I have been able to walk away from a Griz game with a smile,” head coach Jon Newlee joked. “To get the win is nice. It had felt like I had not beat them since I was at Idaho State. It was something different. It was a nice win for us tonight.”
Montana (11-7, 4-3 BSC) came into the game winners of the previous six matchups. Idaho started strong on the defensive side of the ball. The Vandals outworked the Lady Griz below the basket, out-rebounding them 26-20 in the first half. The Vandals totaled 11 second-chance points in the first half, holding Montana to just two. In all, Idaho finished with 16 second-chance points.
“We are not trying to just outscore teams this year,” Newlee explained. “We are trying to defend better and at a higher level. I thought tonight we did a really good job of that.”
The Silver and Gold opened the second half with a nine-point advantage, 31-22. Both sides struggled to get to the basket in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Idaho finally opened the second-half scoring with a pair of Geraldine McCorkell free throws 2:14 into the period. Idaho used a quick 5-0 run from McCorkell to go up by 12, 43-31, with 4:41 left in the third. Salvatore was a perfect 3-for-3 from long range in the third. Her final shot beat the buzzer, giving the Vandals a 17-point lead, 58-41.
“I thought she [Salvatore] brought it all tonight,” Newlee added. “It was not just making the shots that she did. It was also setting people up. I thought she did a good job of hitting people where they needed to get the basketball.”
Aycia Sims cut the Vandal lead to 10, 61-51, with 6:39 to left to play. That was as close as Montana would be able to climb back. A 4-0 run from Renae Mokrzycki put the Vandals back up by 14 with 5:50 on the clock. A Taylor Pierce 3 put Idaho up by 17 with just over five minutes to play, seemingly icing the victory.
Idaho's largest lead of the night came from the hands of Pierce. She hit her third 3 of the evening with 1:16 to go, putting the Vandals ahead by 22, 78-56.
McCorkell finished the night with a team-high 16 points. Mokrzycki totaled 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Vandal bench outscored Montana's, 27-14. Freshmen Pierce and Mikayla Ferenz finished the night combining for 17 points.
Kayleigh Valley led all players with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The Vandals will be back in the Cowan Spectrum on Saturday. Idaho will take on Montana State at 2 p.m. PT. The Bobcats are coming off their first loss of the Big Sky season, losing to Eastern Washington on Thursday.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also follow Idaho women's basketball on Twitter, @VandalsWBB.
