SACRAMENTO—For the second time in a week Idaho junior Mikayla Ferenz totaled a season-high in points, but the Vandals were forced to play from behind on Thursday at The Nest. Sacramento State led wire-to-wire, taking the contest 79-64.

Ferenz, fresh off being named Big Sky Player of the Week, matched her season-high with 33 points. She totaled 29 in the second half alone to help orchestrate the Vandal comeback. Taylor Pierce (13) and Allison Kirby (12) also hit double-figures.

How it Happened
Sacramento State (3-10, 1-1 BSC) caught a hot hand early and jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first minute and a half. An Allison Kirby 3 got Idaho on the board after starting 0-for-4 from the field. The Hornets put in the next 10 points to gain a 22-3 lead. Sacramento State finished the quarter 11-for-19 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range, holding Idaho to just eight points in the quarter.

Idaho (5-9, 1-2 BSC) got early contributions from Kirby, Mikayla Ferenz and Geraldine McCorkell to cut the Sac State lead down to  13, 29-26. The Hornets outscored Idaho 16-5 the remainder of the quarter, increasing their lead to as many as 26.

Ferenz began the Vandal comeback with Idaho's first eight points in the third. Her layup with 2:08 to go in the quarter cut the Idaho deficit down to 13, 55-42. Sacramento State had difficulty containing the Idaho guard out of the halftime break. Ferenz went 8-of-9 in from the field an 4-of-5 from 3, totaling 21 points in the quarter.

Idaho entered the final quarter down by 16, 64-48. Ferenz continued to be the catalyst for the Vandals, scoring the first five points the quarter to cut the Hornets' lead to 11. Idaho climbed back within eight points thanks to a Pierce 3 with 6:54 to play. Idaho was unable to capitalize on its momentum, shooting 2-for-13 the remainder of the fourth. Sac State shut down the Vandals' comeback with an 11-1 run to go back up by 18, 75-57, with 1:17 to play.

Hannah Friend led Sac State with 29 points. Kennedy Nicholas finished with a double-double, totaling 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Keys
The Vandals were slow to get things going on offense on Thursday. The team was outscored 28-9 in the opening quarter and trailed by as many as 19. Idaho shot just 29.2 percent (7-24) in the first half, while Sacramento State hit 53.1 percent (17-32).

Quotes
Head Coach Jon Newlee
On the slow start
"This team didn't come out ready to play. It was 20-3 and I had to call two timeouts to try and wake up some people. It was very disappointing. I really thought we were ready. I thought we had a couple of good practices. I thought we came in here with an attitude. They [Sacramento State] were 2-10, but they are a good team. They had some injuries and played a tough schedule. They flat outplayed us tonight. They were desperate tonight. By the time we woke up it was too late."

On Mikayla Ferenz
"She wasn't making anything in the first half. 0-for-5 from 3. We didn't handle that pressure well in the first half. We know what Mik is capable of when she catches fire. She put on a show. She put us on her back and tried to will us back into this game. Unfortunately, she had to play all those minutes. Again, we need help. She needs help. I thought Kibry gave us some from the offense end, but we got nothing from the post players tonight."

Notes
Idaho has now hit a 3FG in 309 consecutive games…Idaho's 21-first-half points were the second fewest this season (20 at Arizona State)…Idaho's 39 3FGA were the most this season…Ferenz totaled a season-high 13 FGM…Pierce now has 975 career points, 25 away from 1,000.

Upcoming
The Vandals return to action on Saturday against Portland State. The Vikings defeated Eastern Washington 75-60 on Thursday. PSU is now 2-0 in the Big Sky and 8-5 overall.