MOSCOW, Idaho - The Vandals start a four-game road streak with the first two matches in Big Sky Conference play. Idaho will head to Sacramento State on Thursday, December 28th at 6:30 pm and then to Portland State on Saturday, December 30th at 2:00 pm. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and will be available via radio broadcast on AM 840 KMAX or GoVandals.com.
ABOUT IDAHO
The Vandals enter Big Sky Conference play with a 5-5 record. Idaho has two non-conference matchups with Denver and Chicago State left to play in January.
Head coach Carrie Eighmey leads the Vandals into her first season in Big Sky ranked fourth among the other teams in the conference. The Vandals are only three wins behind Eastern and Northern Arizona at the top of the rankings. Last season, Idaho finished the conference regular season 9-9.
Idaho capped off non-conference play with a 19-point win over Saint Martin's, 63-44 in the ICCU Arena. Kennedy Johnson took over as lead scorer with 20 points on the night, a career-high. Johnson is averaging 10.6 ppg followed by Amalie Langer with 10.0 ppg.
ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE
The reigning conference champions have come out as a completely different team this season after losing their head coach to TCU. The Hornets are 1-8 on the season with their only win against CSUN, 58-48.
The Hornets closed non-conference play with a 72-55 loss to Cal Poly on 12/21. The starting five produced 43 of the team's 55 points against Cal Poly. The starting lineup has had a high impact on the team accounting for at least 40 points in five games this season.
Summah Hanson leads the Hornets with 135 points on the season, averaging 15.0 per game. Hanson has started all nine games and averages 33.9 minutes. She is also a force on the boards, averaging 9.1 per game, and has 81 total. The matchup between Hanson and Hope Butera will be a game-changer.
SERIES HISTORY
Idaho and Sacramento State have faced off 24 times in the past with the first meeting in 1994. Last season, the teams faced off three times, twice in the regular season and the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho. The Vandals dropped all three meetings to the Big Sky champs with the closest game 77-70 in Moscow on 2/4/23. The Hornets ended Idaho's 2022-23 season with a dominant 73-58 win in the tournament on 3/6/23.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
Portland State ended non-conference play with the same record as Idaho, 5-5. The Vikings will host Eastern Washington on Thursday to open up Big Sky play. They closed out last week with two losses at home verse San Francisco, 74-63 and Portland, 67-54.
Portland State returns Esmeralda Morales, the 2023 Big Sky Preseason MVP to lead the squad. Morales leads the Big Sky with 20.3 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in almost every game at home. She also tops the Big Sky and ranks No. 4 in the NCAA with 3.6 three-pointers made per game and those number increase to 4.6 per game shooting 57.5% from three at home.
SERIES HISTORY
Idaho and Portland State have faced off 48 times in program history and the Vandals lead 33-15. The first meeting between the programs was in 1977 with the last meeting in 2023. The teams split last season with wins at home. Idaho defeated Portland State 77-70 on 2/2/23 after being defeated at PSU, 53-43 on 1/7/23.
