BOULDER CITY, Nev.- Sophie Hausmann won her second individual conference championship and teammate Michelle Kim finished runner-up to lead Idaho to the team title at the 2018 Big Sky Women's Golf Championships Sunday, at Boulder Creek Golf Club. It is the second title in three years for both the Vandals and Hausmann, sweeping top honors in 2016 as well. The winning performances by Idaho and Hausmann set tournament records for lowest scores by a team (2-over; 866) and individual (10-under; 206).

"It feels amazing," said head coach Lisa Johnson. "It's great to be able to represent the Vandals this well and perform under pressure. I started to get nervous with about six holes to go, but I told myself  'don't over coach, just trust them. Trust that they love this back nine and they'll start making birdies like they have been all week.' That's exactly what they did."

Idaho's quintet combined for 26 birdies and three eagles on the back nine this week, including 10 birdies and an eagle Sunday. In the final round, the Vandals were 8-under on the home stretch to finish the day with a 5-under 283, matching the Big Sky record for lowest single-round score at a conference championship. The strong finish gave Idaho a 10-stroke win over second-place Sacramento State as the Hornets shot even-par on the final nine holes.

"Going five shots under par while trying to win a conference title is no small feat," said Johnson. "The reason why we won this tournament is that we were extremely relaxed and loose. We know that about ourselves and we sought out ways to have fun while also knowing we had goals to reach. We had to make it fun on and off the golf course and we succeeded in doing that."

Hausmann, named the Big Sky Golfer of the Year earlier this week, left no doubt that she was the league's top performer. The Nottuln, Germany, native turned in a 4-under 68 Sunday, as an encore to her tournament-record 65 in the second round Saturday. Hausmann carded an eagle on 16 and a birdie on 18 to secure the victory. She finished the week at 10-under 206 (73-65-68), the lowest score in Big Sky Championship history by two strokes. The Vandal junior is the second player in conference history to record two sub-70 rounds at the same tournament.

"I was pretty relaxed all four days, including the practice round," Hausmann said. "I felt really good about the whole team and our approach, so I didn't put or feel any extra pressure on myself or get real nervous. I got through the first round playing ok. Then I made a couple of putts to start the second round and everything clicked from there."

Hausmann was clicking all the way to the end Sunday, when her birdie on 18 gave the Vandals a 283 to tie the lowest single-round score in tournament history.

"Headed into the back nine I knew I needed a couple more birdies for the team and for myself," Hausmann said. "Michelle was right in front of me and with as well as she looked to be playing I knew there must be birdies out there. I couldn't really tell if anyone else was gaining ground on me or the team, but once I got the eagle I knew I was playing well enough to win and if anyone was going to beat us or me then they absolutely earned it."

Little did Hausmann know her nearest competition was her own teammate. Kim, also a junior, shot a 4-under 68 to finish in second place at 6-under 210 (71-71-68) and wrap up the best conference championship performance of her career. Her 54-hole total is the third-lowest score in tournament history and she is the first Big Sky women's golfer in conference history to shoot under par all three rounds at a conference championship.

"I couldn't be more impressed with Michelle," said Johnson. "This semester she didn't perform as well as she's capable of, but she didn't let that define her season. The last three weeks she went to work on her putting and her mental game and it paid off immensely. She has won some big events in her career and to see that Michelle come back this week was incredible."

Freshman Valeria Patino finished in a tie for 12th, moving up the leaderboard Sunday with an even-par 72. Patino shot 7-over (223) for the tournament. Laura Gerner's 3-over 75 rounded out Idaho's scoring Sunday. Gerner finished the tournament in 28th at 12-over 228. Senior Kendall Gray played her final conference championship at 16-over, tying for 34th.

With the win, Idaho earns a bid to the 2018 NCAA Women's Golf Regionals. It will be the program's sixth appearance as a team at regionals (2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2016). The tournament field is announced Wednesday (April 25), at 2:30 p.m. PT. The selection show will air on the Golf Channel. The tournament takes place May 7-9, at one of four regional sites.

"I told the team that I love regionals, but I love nationals more," Johnson said. "We might as well go for it. If we play like we did this week, we can pull it off."

Hausmann recognizes the opportunity ahead of her and the team, but acknowledges the lesson to take from this week's performance.

"I have to stay relaxed and have fun out there," Hausmann said. "Obviously making it to nationals is one of the team's goals and one of my goals, but playing too tight is never going to get us the results we want. This week proves that and definitely need to remember that at regionals."

Team Results
1.    Idaho                            866 (2-over; 296-287-283)
2.    Sacramento State        876 (12-over; 301-287-288)
3.    Portland State              879 (15-over; 296-294-289)
4.    Northern Arizona          891 (27-over; 306-294-291)
5.    Eastern Washington     894 (30-over; 396-289-299)
6.    Southern Utah              909 (45-over; 317-295-297)
7.    Montana                       912 (48-over; 306-309-297)
8.    Montana State              920 (56-over; 315-301-304)
9.    Northern Colorado        927 (63-over; 315-305-307)
T-10.    North Dakota           944 (80-over; 320-311-313)
T-10.    Weber State            944 (80-over; 321-311-312)
12.    Idaho State                 998 (134-over; 348-334-316)

Individual Results
1.         Sophie Hausmann            206 (10-under; 73-65-68)
2.         Michelle Kim                     210 (6-under; 71-71-68)
T-12.    Valeria Patino                   223 (7-over; 76-75-72)
 28.      Laura Gerner                    228 (12-over; 76-77-75)
T-34.    Kendall Gray                    232 (16-over; 79-76-77)