WACO, Texas—No. 1 seeded Baylor's size proved to a roadblock in the way the 2016 Big Sky Champion's path. No. 16 Idaho's season came to a close on Friday afternoon with a 89-59 loss inside the Ferrell Center. The Vandals struggled to contain the inside presence of the Lady Bears early, getting outscored 30-9 in the first 10 minutes.
Baylor (34-1) hit the game's first 3 in the opening possession. Idaho answered with a Mikayla Ferenz layin just over two minutes gone in the period. The two schools traded baskets to keep the game tight at 5-4. Kalani Brown opened Baylor's offensive rush, helping build a 15 point lead by the 3:36 mark. BU shot 12-of-20 in the first quarter, scoring 12 points in the paint. The Bears used separate runs of 15-0 and 8-0 to close the first, putting the Vandals in an early 30-9 hole.
“We would have liked for a better result,” head coach Jon Newlee stated. “I know our seniors had hoped that as well. But our younger players are going to learn from this experience, and when we get back in the gym in the spring and in the fall, we are going to be a lot better for it.”
Taylor Pierce and Ferenz cut the Baylor lead to 30-15, opening the second quarter with back to back 3's. The Vandals outscored Baylor, 21-17, in the second quarter. Senior Ali Forde was able to make room under the hoop, scoring six of her team-high 17 points in the second quarter. Baylor led by 22 with 2:20 to play in the first half. The Vandals closed the final 1:51 on a 9-2 run, cutting the Lady Bear advantage to 17 at the break.
BU continued to stay hot in the second half, shooting 50 percent in the third and 47.6 percent in the fourth quarter, respectively. Alexis Jones totaled 15 of her game-best 23 points over the final 20 minutes. The Vandals continued to battle, not letting Baylor go down without a fight.
“They [the team] are fighters,” Newlee added. “They are never going to give up. They kept fighting. They kept shooting the basketball and playing hard, man, and playing their tails off. And that is what I love about them.
“There is not quit in these Idaho Vandals, and that is, again, what makes them that special of a group. I really love them.”
Idaho (24-10) never was able to find a rhythm from beyond the arc on Friday. The Vandals hit just nine shots from long range on a season-high 43 attempts, the third most attempted in an NCAA Tournament game. Senior Christina Salvatore and Pierce led the team hitting three 3's apiece. Forde, a post-player, squared up and hit her fifth career 3 to close Idaho's scoring from deep.
Baylor had four players hit double figures on the day. Jones had eight rebounds to go with her 23 points. Nina Davis totaled 18 points and seven boards. Kristy Wallace lead all bench-scores with 13 points. Kalani Brown hit 4-of-7 from the field for 10 points.
Niya Johnson finished with 16 assists for the Lady Bears, tying her own program NCAA tournament record.
The loss closes out illustrious four-year careers for Forde, Salvatore and Connie Ballestero, Forde finished a rebound shy of her 22nd career double-double, totaling nine to go with her 17 points. Salvatore recovered after a slow start to finish with 12 points. Ballestero came off the bench and totaled two points and an assist in 18 minutes. Friday also closed the careers of transfers Renae Mokrzycki and Tayla Corrigan.
“Going to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four years has been huge,” Forde said. “We have won our conference in three of our four seasons at Idaho. To deal with these girls, this team especially this year, like Coach said, we are really tight-knit. It is just kind of been the frosting on the cake to come to a big school and go 'balls to the wall.'”
Idaho is set to return a young core of players for the 2016-17 season. Pierce totaled 88 3 pointers this season as a freshman. Ferenz finished on her heels with 79. Karlee Wilson, who started every game this season for Idaho, will continue to run point for the Vandals. Offensive threat Geraldine McCorkell, will return as the team's leading scorer averaging 11.5 points per game this season.
