MOSCOW, Idaho –The University of Idaho women's basketball team improved to 8-5 overall and 7-2 in Big Sky play, defeating Weber State (0-10, 0-7) 76-53 Friday night. Idaho outscored Weber State 21-12 in the second period, taking a 36-24 lead at the half. In the second half Idaho outscored the Wildcats 40-29. Beyonce Bea led the Vandals with 23 points while Janie King and Gabi Harrington totaled 19 and 17, respectively.
 
THE GAME
 
Idaho and Weber State battled early in the first period, trading points and stops. Nina Carlson put the Vandals up eight, 15-7 following a layup at the 3:17 mark. Weber State closed the period on a 5-0 run, cutting the deficit to three, 15-12.
 
Weber State's Jadyn Matthews cut Idaho's lead to one, 20-19 at the 7:12 mark of the second period. Gabi Harrington responded for the Vandals scoring five points in 20 seconds to lead 25-19. Up six, 28-22 with 4:33 to go in the period, the Vandals closed out the period on an 8-2 run to lead 36-24 at the half. Idaho hit eight three-pointers in the first half, eight of which came in the final run. Idaho held Weber State to just 12 points in the second period.
 
The third period picked up where the second left off for the Vandals. Beyonce Bea scored the first eight points for the Vandals as the squad jumped out to a 44-24 lead over the Wildcats to begin the second half. Five points from Harrington and three from Bea put Idaho back up by 20, 51-31, continuing a 23-9 run from the second period with 5:01 to go in the third. Weber State cut into Idaho's lead down the stretch of the third, cutting the deficit to 12, 52-40 with 2:16 to play in the period. Harrington added a three-pointer and Janie King drilled a long three at the buzzer lifting Idaho to a 58-42 advantage to close out the third period.
 
After ending the third period on a three, King came alive in the fourth period Idaho 13 more points to her six previous. King's eighth point of the period gave Idaho a 24-point lead, 71-47. The quickly grew into 27, the largest of the game following a three-pointer and a layup from King. The Vandals would go on to win 76-53.

THE QUOTES Head Coach Jon Newlee

"I just told them 'Hey total team effort tonight' and it showed up. It was reminiscence of that WBI run when we also won the tournament with only eight people. I love the way our team just came together and played well as a team."

"I thought we had some let downs in the third quarter from a defensive standpoint. We kind of started slowing down and I took a timeout and was like look 'We have to keep our energy up'. Once we righted that ship things went well. Janie made some big threes for us and I thought the stretch in that quarter when Beyonce took control in that three to four minutes stretch was crucial for us. "

"I loved our intensity defensively. I thought we did a good job following the game plan. Getting out and hurrying some shots if we need to. These guys can be explosive we know that. I thought we kept our focus really well except for that one stretch in the third quarter."
 
 
THE NAME

Janie King scored a career-high 19 points for the Vandals in the win. She scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth period and shot 4-of-9 from three overall. She also grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded one steal.
 
THE NOTES
 
Three players scored in double-figures as Beyonce Bea led all players with 23 points. Janie King chipped in 19 while Gabi Harrington added 17. Harrington also led Idaho on the boards with nine while Bea had eight.

Gina Marxen only scored six points in tonight's contest, but led the Vandals in assets with five, grabbed four rebounds, totaled a career-high three blocks and recorded two steals. She was +25 on the box score.

The Vandals shot 32 percent from deep tying their season-high with 14 three-pointers. The Vandals also totaled 15 assists and committed just nine turnovers. Weber State turned the ball over 16 times resulting in 20 Idaho points.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Vandals will take on the Wildcats again