MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vandal women's basketball team finished the weekend at home with a 61-56 loss to Weber State on Saturday night.
Kennedy Johnson led Idaho with 18 points and eight rebounds. The Vandals are now 2-3 in Big Sky play.
Both teams were slow to start after the first whistle rang. Weber State got out front with a three-pointer while Idaho failed to make a basket until three minutes in.
Amalie Langer earned Idaho's first points with a layup, making the game 3-2. The score held until the media timeout at 4:21. After recuperating on the sideline, both teams came back out shooting much better.
Ashlyn Wallace picked up two steals and scored from the paint, giving Idaho their first lead of the game, 7-6. The game was knotted up at 12-12 after the first ten, led by
Sarah Brans with two three-pointers.
Idaho earned their greatest lead of the game after a 9-0 run courtesy of points from
Kennedy Johnson and
Sarah Schmitt. The Wildcats hit a drought for three minutes but fought back to equalize the game with a shot from beyond the arc. As the final seconds winded down, Schmitt popped in a layup to give the Vandals a 26-24 lead going into half time. In the quarter, Idaho shot 50% from both the field and three while Weber St struggled, shooting under 30%.
The first half proved to be a rollercoaster of momentum for the teams. There were seven lead changes with four times tied. Johnson and Brans led the Vandals on the offense scoring a combined 17 points. Kennedy went 4-6 from the field and Brans went 3-4 from three. Idaho outrebounded the Wildcats 19-16 with three Vandals grabbing four apiece. Weber State's Jadyn Matthews led the court with 13 points and five rebounds. Idaho had an uncharacteristically high eight turnovers on the half compared to Weber State with five. Idaho shot 11-26 (42.3%) from the field, 4-9 (44.4%) from three, and did not attempt a free throw. Weber State went 9-29 (31) from the field, 4-10 (40) from three, and 2-2 from the charity stripe.
The Vandals hit a third quarter slump as Weber State went on multiple scoring runs. The Wildcats gained the lead back on a 10-2 run, as Idaho only scored from the free throw line. The Vandals were ultimately limited zero points from the field until the 1:48 mark. Until then, Idaho only had four total points all coming from the free throw line. After breaking the seal, Idaho gained momentum with a 5-0 run as they headed into the final quarter.
Idaho continued on the momentum as the final ten minutes began with a 7-0 run. Brans threw her body on the floor to get a 50/50 ball that led to a wide open three-pointer from Wallace to tie the game up 49-49. The 7-0 run was fueled by 100% shooting from the Vandals, 3-3 from the field, 1-1 from three and 2-2 from the free throw line. With four minutes left in the game, both teams went cold and scoreless for over one minute. As the final minutes ticked on, the game wound down to foul play, where Weber took the lead off free throws. Idaho was unable to convert on a last second attempt as the Wildcats walked away with the win.
Idaho will look to turn the conference season around as they hit the road to take on Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado on Thursday and Saturday. The Vandals have performed exceptionally on the road and boast a 7-1 record away from home.
