MOSCOW, Idaho — Mikayla Ferenz scored 39 points, and Taylor Pierce added 20 to help league-leader Idaho rout Northern Arizona 90-72 on Thursday.
 
Three Vandals ran the offense with a sharpshooter mentality as Ferenz, Pierce and Gina Marxen went 50 percent from behind the arc. The trio knocked down a combined 12-of-24 3-pointers. Marxen tied her season-high seven assists while adding eight points into the mix.
 
THE GAME
The Vandals dominated from the opening tip, but it was the second quarter where Idaho took complete control of NAU's fate. Idaho had a 32-24 lead in the second when Pierce put up the first out of four consecutive threes that sparked a 12-0 run. With a 20-point increase for Idaho, the Lumberjacks were forced to call a timeout to regroup. In the third, the Vandals kept pace and outscored NAU 24-17. With 2:32 remaining in the third, Pierce hit her sixth triple to give Idaho a 28-point advantage, its largest lead. The Lumberjack fought back in the fourth, but the deficit was too deep for a comeback.
 
Ferenz was one bucket away from tying her career-high 41 points. The 39-point performance puts her 23 points away from breaking the Big Sky scoring record of 2,296 points.
 
NOTES
Ferenz went 14-of-22 from FG and 4-of-9 3FG.
Pierce went 6-of-12 from 3FG.
8 out of 9 wins for the Vandals.
Natalie Klinker grabbed eight boards and Lizzy Klinker with seven.
11 turnovers from the Vandals.
Idaho outrebounded the Lumberjacks 35-27.
 
THE QUOTES—Jon Newlee


BIG SKY ON DECK
Idaho plays Southern Utah at home in Memorial Gym Saturday at 2 p.m.