HOUSTON—Idaho's magical run in the Women's Basketball Invitational came to a close in the semifinal round on Thursday. The Vandals, fueled by 20-point efforts from the Splash Sisters, Mikayla Ferenz and Taylor Pierce, were unable to cool off the hot hand of the Rice Owls, falling 86-80 inside Tudor Fieldhouse.

The shorthanded Vandals grinded out the night. Ferenz and Pierce played all 40 minutes, scoring 26 and 23 points, respectively. Senior Karlee Wilson played all but 30 seconds in her final game as a Vandal. Pierce hit six 3's on the night, setting an Idaho single-season record with 93. Junior Geraldine McCorkell finished with 14 points, surpassing the 1,000 point mark in her career.

Rice (21-13) used an 11-for-15 shooting performance in the 3rd quarter to keep the Vandals at bay. The Owls opened the period with a 44-43 lead, extending it to 50-43 in the first minute of play. The home team began the quarter 5-of-6 from the field, but only led Idaho 57-53 at the midway point of the quarter. Ferenz pulled the Vandals even at 57, but Rice countered with a 3 to go back up by three. Rice was 5-for-5 from beyond the arch in the quarter. McCorkell passed the 1,000 point mark with her lone 3 of the night, cutting the Rice lead to 65-63. Rice ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, taking a 71-63 lead into the fourth. Maya Hawkins scored 10 points in the quarter for the Owls, shooting 4-for-4 from the field.  

Pierce hit her sixth 3 to kick-start a 5-0 run, sliming the Rice lead to 71-68. The Vandals would twice more cut the lead down to three. A Ferenz layup with 1:43 to play made it 83-80 with 1:43 to play. A crucial Vandal turnover handed the ball back to Rice with 1:16 to play. Jasmine Goodwine hit the dagger for Owls, going up 85-80 with 55 seconds to play. Idaho shot 7-for-13 in the quarter, but could not get anything to fall in the final minute.

Idaho (19-15) got off to a bit of a slow start in the game's first 10 minutes. The Vandals turned the ball over six times in the opening quarter, getting down by as many as nine points. The Vandals started 2-of-5 from the field, hitting two early 3's thanks to Brooke Reilly.

Pierce sparked the Vandals in the second quarter with 12 points in the frame. She cut the Owl lead to 39-38 in the midst of an 8-0 run. Isabelle Hadden handed the Vandals their first lead of the night, 40-39, with 1:38 to go in the half. Pierce hit another long ball, extending the run to 13-0 and the lead to 43-39. Rice scored five points in the final 30 seconds, regaining the lead and momentum before the half.

Hawkins led Rice with 25 points and nine rebounds.

Keys
Idaho was outrebounded in the first half 22-12. Rice was able to get inside on the glass early on and totaled eight offensive boards in the first 20 minutes. The Owls had nine second chance points in the first half, limiting Idaho to one offensive rebound. The Vandals did a better job in the second half, holding Rice to just six more offensive boards. The Owls shutout Idaho, 16-0, in second chance points, holding the Vandals to two offensive rebounds and a season-low 22 overall.

Quotes
Head Coach Jon Newlee
On what the difference in the game was
"I thought we gave up too many drives to the hoop, especially in that first half. We really were not getting over and cutting off driving lanes. We got in some early foul trouble that certainly did not help us either. I think defensively just giving up the drive...You have to give credit to Rice. They certainly came out and shot the lights out. That is the advantage of playing at home."

On having to overcome the third quarter
"It was rough. They came out on fire. Maya Hawkins comes out and hits a couple of 3's. I thought the first one was contest pretty good. I think our transition defense let us down today. Rice is extremely athletic and are very fast. We knew that was going to happen. We talked about being able to get back and keep pushing. Our kids fought so hard. I could not be more proud of a team in my life. What a great experience this WBI run has been for all of them. We talked about not wanting to go out like we did in Reno. This was a completely different team in the postseason. I loved their effort and attitude and everything that they showed during this run. It was a fantastic experience."

On players giving it their all
"Those three guards played 80 minutes in the last two games. They are in shape and they were going good. Everyone wants to make a big deal out of it, but our rotation is usually only eight deep anyway during the year. It was different guys coming off the bench. Guys who did not get their chance during the season really stepped up in this WBI tournament. Isabelle [Hadden], [Nejra] Solo and Jenae [Lewallen] all came in and contributed when they could. I will go to war with these eight. I can tell you that. They are fantastic kids with great attitudes and that is what I want to coach.

"We are going to see the fruits of this next year with the confidence that they will feel. Solo and Isabelle in particular are really going to feel the confidence that they can really step up in the postseason and play as well as they did. That should give them confidence. They will have an extra bounce in their step when we start individual workouts, knowing what is possible for them."

Notes
Pierce passed Christina Salvatore's mark of 91 3FG in a season (2013-14)...Ferenz matched Salvatore's mark, finishing with 91 3FG this season...McCorkell now has 1,006 career points...Idaho has now hits a 3FG in 295 straight games...Idaho shot 54.4% (31-for-57) its second best mark of the season...Rice's 86 points tied for the second most by an opponent this season...Ferenz finishes the season with 14 games this season with 20+ points and 30 double-digit scoring games...Ferenz also finished the season fourth on the single-season scoring list with 630 points.