CHENEY, Wash.—Three players played all 40 minutes for the Vandals on Monday, helping Idaho advance to the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational. Sophomore Mikayla Ferenz scored a game-high 33 points to lead Idaho to a 74-67 win at Eastern Washington.  

Idaho (19-14) began the night with a hot hand. Ferenz opened the scoring for the Vandals, hitting a 3 to start the night. Ferenz scored 12 of Idaho's first 13 points, getting out to a 13-6 lead in the first six minutes. The Vandals hit their first four triples of the quarter, closing the frame with a 19-11 advantage.

EWU (19-14) chipped away in the second, closing the gap to four with 6:43 to play. Idaho answered with a 5-0 from Ferenz, pushing Idaho back to a 29-20 lead. Junior Nejra Solo capped a second 5-0 spurt for Idaho, giving the Vandals their largest lead of the half at 34-22. The Eagles closed the half strong with a 9-2 run to slim the Idaho advantage down to five at the break.

The Vandals jumped out strong out of the locker room in the third. Idaho scored the first nine points of the quarter, getting out to its largest lead of the night, 45-31. EWU erased the lead with a 14-0 response, tying the game at 45. The Eagles outscored Idaho, 20-14 in the quarter, regaining a 51-50 lead by the end of the period.

A 5-0 run started the comeback for the Vandals in the fourth. EWU regained the lead, 56-55, with 8:43 to play. Geri McCorkell put the Vandals back up by one, 57-56, with 7:56 left on the clock. The Vandals held off Eastern the rest of the way, holding on for the seven point win.

Pierce closed the night with 16 points, the only other Vandal to hit double figures. McCorkell finished with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Junior Brooke Reilly contributed five assists and six boards to go with her six points. 

Idaho will take on Rice in Houston on Thursday, March. 23.

KEY MOMENT
Reilly provided a key extra possession for the Vandals late in the fourth. Idaho was up by four, 64-60, with under 3:30 to play in the fourth. Reilly battled through two EWU players to fight for along offensive rebound with 3:24 on the clock. The extra possession led to a Pierce step-back jumper late in the shot clock, extending the Vandal lead to six with 2:57 remaining. The extra possession proved key as EWU went down the court scoring on its next two possessions, cutting the Idaho lead down to 66-65.  

NOTES
Win No. 150 for head coach Jon Newlee at Idaho...Idaho's first win at EWU since 2003...Ferenz moves into sixth all-time at Idaho with 168 career 3's...Pierce moves her total to 175 career 3's (fifth all-time)...McCorkell is now eight points shy of 1,000 for her career...Idaho has now hit a 3-pointer in 294 consecutive games...10 3's on the night gives Idaho 342 on the season, eight shy of the school record of 350 set last season.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jon Newlee
On overall play from team
"Our eight players were ready to go. They played hard against Utah State. Everybody on the team knows they are going to get action. They were really focused and loose. We came in with nothing to lose and I thought we played like that tonight."

On Mikayla Ferenz
"When the left her open at first and she hit that first shot it was like 'Ok here we go.' It is nice to get her going early. She is just so good and hard to guard with her range. When she gets hot...and we have seen that all year. I think everybody did a good job of moving and cutting and not just standing around trying to watch her do something. I thought everybody did a really great job of moving the basketball."

On Reilly rebound that led to Pierce basket
"That was a huge rebound. A huge hustle play by Brooke and then Taylor with the step-back jumper. Big, big play. I thought we were going to get Taylor in front of the bench for the 3 when Geri took the baseline jumper. It was going to be Utah State all over again with the dagger, but she did it with at two this time. I am always confident when Taylor is going to shoot the basketball. I am glad we got a great look but again the hustle from Brooke really provided that."

Sophomore Mikayla Ferenz
On getting her game going early
"It had been a while since we last played so I felt a little more fresh for this game. The first play we ran was a shot of me. I know I have to take my shots when I am open. I was feeling it in the first quarter."

On trailing after the third quarter
"The crowd really got into it [in the third] and so that was a little difficult. We just try not to get rattled. I think we are really good, especially our senior leaders, about keeping us composed. That really helped."