OGDEN, Utah – The Vandal women's basketball team re-entered the win column at Weber State on Thursday night with a 60-47 victory. Graduate student, Sarah Schmitt led the Vandals with 15 points while freshman, Aspen Caldwell dominated the boards with a career-high of eight.
For the second game in a row, Schmitt led Idaho in points scored and has averaged 15 points in the last three games. Tonight's tally marked her 11th game this season with points in the double digits. Kennedy Johnson and Amalie Langer joined Schmitt in the double digits scoring 14 and 11, respectively. Coming off the bench, Caldwell scored every bench point and led in rebounds. Her nine points tied for her best shooting performance against a D1 team this season. Idaho improved to 5-7 in Big Sky Conference play, 12-12 overall and 8-3 away from home.
Johnson kickstarted the game with a three-pointer from deep, but the Wildcats responded quickly after going on a nine-point run. Asha Phillips took her turn from beyond the arc, bringing the tally to 6-9. Schmitt drained Idaho's third and final three of the quarter as the Wildcats started to take off with the lead. Weber State capitalized from a Vandal cold streak as Idaho shot 1-7 from the field ending the quarter 14-19. All of Idaho's points came from three-point range or the free-throw line.
As the second quarter started, the Vandals came within reach of the lead with another three from Schmitt. The bucket tied the game 24-24 and marked the end of the Vandals' score deficit. Shortly after, Caldwell pushed in a contested layup for the two-point lead at 26-24 while the Vandals went on a 10-0 run. Weber State was held scoreless for over three minutes as the game reached the halftime intermission.
Through the first 20 minutes, Idaho had great success shooting from three-point range, going 5-8 (62.5%). While the Vandals succeeded in one area, they struggled in what is typically their strong suit, free throws (6-12). Idaho could have had an additional six points tacked on to the lead as four of Weber's starters tallied at least two fouls each. Schmitt and Johnson led Idaho with eight points each while three Vandals (Johnson, Phillips, and Caldwell) grabbed four boards apiece.
Unlike the last matchup against the Wildcats, the Vandals were able to maintain the lead in the second half. Langer finessed a reverse layup to open the scoring followed by another Schmitt three-pointer. The Wildcats struggled to get shots to fall, going on another three-minute score drought. Weber State did adjust at halftime and avoided sending Idaho to the line in the ten minutes. Caldwell had her most productive quarter, scoring four points from the paint.
As the final quarter began, Idaho's high-pressure man-to-man defense shut down the Wildcats' offensive efforts for the first five minutes. The Wildcats broke the drought from the charity stripe, going 1-2 from the line. The momentum swung in the Wildcats' favor for just a moment as Weber State scored a three-pointer under pressure right before the media timeout. The momentum was squashed soon after as Kennedy drained a three-pointer from the corner and the Wildcats' energy faltered. At this point in the game, the Vandals were able to control the tempo, slowing down the game as the final two minutes ticked on. Idaho continued to tack points onto the lead, earning their largest lead of 60-45. Idaho managed the final possessions and walked away victorious.
The 60-47 victory was led by the Vandals' three-point performance going 7-12 (58.3%) from beyond the arc. Idaho overall shot 22-50 (44%) from the field and 9-17 from free throw. The Wildcats attempted 52 shots from the field, converting on only 17 (32.7%), but outperformed Idaho at the free throw line, 8-13 (61.5%). Weber State's Kendra Parra led the court with 16 points, but the Vandals outperformed with 36-33 rebounds and 17-9 points off turnovers.
Idaho will go on to face in-state foe, Idaho State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PST in Pocatello to close out the weekend road trip.
