FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.—The Idaho women's basketball team got back in the win column on Wednesday, holding of Northern Arizona 93-83 at the Walkup Skydome. The Vandals remain second in the conference, and in position to earn a first-round bye at next week's Big Sky Tournament in Reno, Nev.

Junior guard Taylor Pierce totaled eight 3-pointers and led the Vandals with 28 points in another record-setting performance. Pierce's eight 3's improved her career total to 292, pushing her past Sacramento State's Maranne Johnson (291) to become the Big Sky's career 3-point leader.

How it Happened
Idaho (16-12, 12-5) came out of the gate shooting with a purpose. The Vandals opened the night on an 11-2 run and shot 55.6 percent (10-18) in the first quarter. Pierce sparked the Vandals' offense, going 3-for-3 from 3 in the first quarter. She also did a good job distributing the offense, matching her career-high with six first-half assists. 

The Vandals shot a blistering 66.7 percent (10-15) in the second. Isabelle Hadden came off the bench for eight points. Mikayla Ferenz totaled seven in the second. Her lone 3 of the half gave the Vandals a 17-point lead, a mark Idaho hit three times in the quarter. 

Northern Arizona (7-21, 4-13) recovered from its slow offensive start and slimmed Idaho's lead to as low as seven in the third quarter. Olivia Lucero scored 21 of her career-high 36 points in the second half. Piece's sixth 3 of the night put Idaho back up by 11 in the final seconds of the third. 

Ferenz, Natalie Klinker and Pierce all chipped in helping Idaho on a 6-2 run to open the final quarter. Nejra Solo and Geraldine McCorkell helped put the game out of reach, twice giving the Vandals a 17-point lead. 

McCorkell went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, totaling 17 points. She added a game-high 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Ferenz finished with 19 points and five assists. Hadden led the Vandals' bench with 12 points. 

Keys
Idaho's first-quarter defense solidified Wednesday's win. The team shut down the Lumberjacks in the quarter, holding NAU to 31.3 percent (5-16) from the floor. Lucero was the only Lumberjack to get into a rhythm, totaling seven of NAU's 13 first-quarter points. 

Northern Arizona did not shot below 50 percent the rest of the night, outscoring Idaho 70-69 from the second quarter on. 

Quotes
Head coach Jon Newlee
On Idaho's offense
"I think we just like to play in domes. It is as simple as that. We like to shoot in domes apparently. 
"I really thought our ball movement was fantastic tonight. We really talked about that. The ball really stuck in the last homestand at times. We got to get everybody involved. 22 assists tonight and only five turnovers. It was not a one-person show."

On Taylor Pierce
"She had that look in her eyes. She was really focused. Not really joking around. I think she really wanted to come out and prove something after the homestand. When I saw those first couple go in we started running more plays for her. I thought she might go and off and she did. It was great to see."

On first quarter defense
"Defensively, we were just on them. We were contesting every 3. We were keeping them off the foul line. When they drove our help was there. I thought our ball pressure was tremendous. That was certainly one of our best quarters of the year."

Notes
McCorkell is 30-of-31 in the last two games from the free-throw line…she has now made 27 consecutive free throws…McCorkell also tied Leilani Mitchell for eighth on Idaho's all-time scoring list (1,479), moved into ninth in career free-throws made (297) and ninth in rebounds (748)…Idaho has now gone 323 games with a 3FGM…Idaho is now 15-1 when leading at the half.

Upcoming
The Vandals close the regular season at Southern Utah on Friday. The Thunderbirds fell to Eastern Washington on Wednesday. SUU is 2-15 on in conference play and seeded 12th in the Big Sky.