MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho women's basketball goes on the road this weekend for games at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. The Vandals will tip off at Northern Colorado at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 16th, and at Northern Arizona on Saturday, February 18th at noon. The games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and available via radio broadcast on AM 840 KMAX or GoVandals.com.
ABOUT IDAHO: This weekend is crucial as the Vandals hope to climb the Big Sky rankings. Two wins this weekend could potentially place Idaho in the top five. At 6-7 in the conference, the Vandals enter the week fresh off a 88-64 win against Eastern Washington on Saturday. Idaho was a force on both sides of the court, shooting 51.7% from the field and 94.4% from the line. Idaho tallied 18 assists and eight different athletes scored two or more points. Defensively, six Vandals grabbed five or more rebounds as Idaho outrebounded the Eagles 40-32.
Beyonce Bea,
Tiana Johnson, and
Rosa Smith led the offensive effort for the Vandals, all scoring in double digits. Bea led the team with 27 points, going 11-11 from the line. She also recorded five rebounds and five assists. Johnson found her groove after a long scoring drought, putting up 18 points with four three-pointers. Smith reentered the starting lineup, earning her 20th start of the season, and scored 14 points. She has scored in the double digits in 11 games this season and is the only Vandal, other than Bea, to record a double-double this season (16 points, 10 assists at GCU - 12/18/22).
ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO: The Bears sit at ninth in the conference with a record of 4-10 and 11-14 overall. UNC went 0-2 on the weekend with losses at Portland State and Sacramento State. The Bears dropped Thursday's match to PSU 56-52. Northern Colorado's Delaynie Byrne led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds while Aniah Hall was right behind her with 15 points and seven rebounds. UNC shot 30.5% (18-59) from the field, 25% (4-16) from the arc, and 85.7% (12-14) from the line. On Saturday, the Bears lost to Sacramento 79-48. Once again, Byrne led the team with 15 points and six rebounds. UNC shot 33.3% from the field (15-45) and the arc (5-15) and 72.2% (13-18) from the line.
UNC's Hannah Simental leads the Big Sky and is fifth in the NCAA with a free throw percentage of 92.1. Simental and Byrne both lead the Bears with 348 points this season. Throughout the season, Northern Colorado has shot 39.9% from the field, 32.9% from the arc, and 78.2% from the line.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Lumberjacks split the weekend on the road at Sacramento State and Portland State. NAU defeated Sacramento State 84-82 in overtime on Thursday. Three scored in double digits led by Emily Rodabaugh with 26 and Regan Schenck with 21. NAU shot 43.5% (27-62) from the field, 27.8% (5-18) from the arc, and 78.1% (25-32) from the line. On Saturday, NAU uncharacteristically a season-low 55 points in the loss to Portland State, 60-55. Schenck was limited to only five points and Rodabaugh led with 17 points. The squad shot 37.3% (19-51) from the field, 25% (4-16) from the arc, and 81.3% (13-16) from the line.
The Lumberjacks lead the conference with rebounds per game both offensively (13.2) and overall (40.52). NAU also has the top-scoring offense at an average of 76.7 points per game, ranking 30th in the NCAA. Schenck leads the Big Sky in assists (188) and assists per game (7.0) and sits at third and eighth in the NCAA respectively. Rodabaugh surpassed Gandy this past weekend in three-point attempts with 185 on the season.
SERIES HISTORY: The series history with the Bears is young with Northern Colorado up 9-7. The last time the two met was in Moscow resulting in a 63-58 win for the Bears. Idaho is 4-4 on the road in Greeley. Idaho has the edge in the series history against Northern Arizona, 23-15. The last time the teams met also ended in a loss for the Vandals, 90-67. The series is tied at 9-9 when playing in Flagstaff.
