MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vandals women's basketball team dropped a close battle to GCU in overtime, 65-63 on Sunday afternoon in the ICCU Arena. Amalie Langer led the Vandals with 13 points.
For the second season in a row, the Vandals went into overtime against the Lopes. Last season, the Vandals were victorious at GCU, 81-78. This time around, Idaho was not so fortunate as they lost their first overtime game of the season. Idaho is now 3-2 all-time against the Lopes.
Both teams put on an offensive display in the first quarter shooting over 45% from the field. The Lopes took off in the first 10 going on a 6-0 run later followed by a 5-0 run. At the media timeout, both teams were over 50% from the field. Grand Canyon outscored Idaho 18-12 in the quarter, shooting 53.33% (8-15) from the field and 2-2 from the line while the Vandals shot 45.45% (5-11) from the field and 40% (2-5) from three.
The second quarter was rather uneventful as both teams scored in the single digits. The team's shooting percentages both sank to below 28% from the field. The Vandals were scoreless for over five minutes until Aspen Caldwell entered and scored five points off back-to-back layups and one from the charity stripe. Caldwell's points also started the huge scoring drive for the Vandals going into the third quarter.
Idaho entered the locker room at half down, 19-27. While the Vandals had an eight-point deficit, the atmosphere in the arena remained hopeful. Idaho started a momentum in the second quarter and looked to keep it going when they returned to the court.
The Vandals turned what looked to be a considerable loss into a nail-biter with a huge third-quarter comeback. Idaho continued to dominate in the third going on an 18-0 run holding the Lopes scoreless for over 10 minutes spanning across the two quarters. Idaho scored 21 points while GCU only scored nine. Six Vandals contributed to the scoring tally while Sarah Schmitt led with five going 2-3 from the field and 1-1 from three. The hands were hot as Idaho shot 57.1% (8-14) from the field, 50% (3-6) from three, and 100% (2-2) from the line.
Going into the final 10 minutes, the Vandals had their largest lead of seven points. Grand Canyon found their rhythm again and started to inch back into the game. The Lopes went on an 11-0 run while the Vandals were scoreless for over five minutes after a series of turnovers. Sarah Brans kept the Vandals' hopes alive scoring seven points. The game reached a standstill for a while as it came down to foul play and shots at the line. Idaho had the final possession of regulation time, but the shot attempt came up short and the teams prepped for overtime.
The overtime was neck-and-neck up until the final minute. Hope Butera was scoreless before entering the extra minutes but led the team with four points. As the game came down to the final seconds, the Lopes had possession of the ball trying to find a clear shot. The Vandals tried to overwhelm GCU, but Naudia Evans took her chance while she could and scored the game-winning points as the final buzzer rang.
Idaho closes out their pre-conference section of the schedule on Tuesday afternoon in the ICCU Arena vs. Saint Martin's. The game will be played at 12:30 PM and the Vandals will host hundreds of local elementary school kids from the local area.
