RENO, Nev.— Idaho was on fire from deep on Friday, hitting 14 3-poointers, as the Vandals topped No. 2 Eastern Washington, 86-71, to advance to their third championship game in the last four seasons.
The Vandals advance to face No. 9 Idaho State in the Big Sky Tournament Championship Game on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. WatchBigSky.com will cover the game live for FREE.
“Our first quarter started a little rocky,” head coach Jon Newlee noted. “From a defensive standpoint they [EWU] were getting some pretty good looks. We were not as quick as we needed to be. We had to regroup there and I really liked our comeback to get it to six at halftime.
“I thought they would have a hard time covering us if we could spread the floor. We got to running. Our posts and guards were pushing the ball up the floor and scoring. I though the key was we started defending.”
Idaho (23-9) trailed for much of the game, but came out on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring the first seven points to claim the lead. The Silver and Gold went 14-of-28 from beyond the arc on the day, hitting double figure 3's for the 18th time this season. Mikayla Ferenz drained four 3-balls, giving her 12 so far in the tournament. Freshman Taylor Pierce joined the barrage, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the final 10 minutes.
“At the beginning of the year Coach got on Taylor and I a bit for not taking our shots,” Ferenz recalled. “We both realized that we have the 'green light' and ever since we have been taking it.”
The Vandals finished the day with five players scoring in double figures. Ferenz led the way with 20 points, giving her 48 for the tournament. Pierce added 16 , shooting 4-of-8 from 3. Ali Forde was stellar on the day, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbing a career-high 17 boards. Forde contributed on both ends of the court, swatting five shots as well.
Junior Karlee Wilson handed out a game-high 6 assists to go with her 15 points. Senior Christina Salvatore went 4-of-9 from the field, totaling 14 points.
EWU (20-12) held a six point lead with 3:17 to play in the third quarter. Idaho cut the lead down to one, 56-55 to start the fourth. Pierce drained a three in in the opening seconds of the fourth to give the Vandals a 58-56 lead. A 7-0 run from the Vandals put Idaho up by six, forcing Easter into a timeout with 8:25 to play.
The Eagles cut the Vandal lead down to four, 66-62, off a Halyley Hodgins jumper with 5:48 to play. Idaho answered back with a 3 from Pierce to regain the seven-point advantage. A Wilson corner 3 put Idaho up by 11 with 1:54 to play, forcing EWU to foul. Idaho drained 10 free-throws in the final minutes to secure a rematch with Idaho State.
The Hodgins sisters provided the bulk of the offense for Eastern Washington. Delaney scored a game-high 22 points, while Hayley finished with 19.
The Vandals will look for revenge against Idaho State in Saturday's championship. The Vandals suffered a 89-68 loss to end the regular season in Pocatello. The winner will get the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“My first two years I did not really know what it was like not to go [to the NCAA Tournament],” Salvatore joked. “Last year when we struggled it just kind of motivated us more, specifically our senior class. This is our last year. We went in our first years let's do it again.”
