MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vandal women's basketball team hosts Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona this week on Thursday and Saturday. The games will be broadcast on ESPN+. As always, the games will also be broadcast on the radio at AM 840 KMAX or GoVandals.com.
ABOUT IDAHO: The Vandals (13-12, 6-7) are coming off an undefeated weekend on the road at Weber State and Idaho State.
The Vandals 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 9-3 away from home.
The Vandals closed out an undefeated weekend at Idaho State with a 49-48 win. Schmitt knocked in a last-second layup under pressure followed by an and one to earn the win.
Johnson led the Vandals with 17 points on the day, shooting 50% from the field (5-10) and three-point range (2-4) as well as 100% from free throw (5-5). Freshman, Caldwell had 12 points shooting 4-6 from the field, 1-1 from three-point, and 3-4 from the free throw line. The Vandals finished the weekend undefeated for the second time in conference this season.
ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO: The Bears (12-12, 7-6) also had an undefeated weekend, hosting Portland State and Sacramento State.
Four Northern Colorado student-athletes scored in double figures, and the Bears rolled past Portland State 65-48 and completed the regular season sweep of the Vikings Thursday evening. True freshman Tatum West tied her career-high with 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field. West finished 8-for-9 at the free-throw line and added five rebounds.
Sophomore Seneca Hackley finished with 14 points on a 4-for-6 shooting from the floor. Hackley also finished a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. Senior Hannah Simental dropped 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds to nearly complete the double-double.
In a game that featured 17 lead changes, Northern Colorado showcased its grit and defeated Sacramento State 65-59 in Big Sky Conference action on Saturday from the Bank of Colorado Arena. Tied at 54-54 with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, sophomore Aniah Hall's jumper provided the Bears a lead it would not surrender the rest of the way.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Lumberjacks (19-7, 11-2) split the weekend hosting the same schools as Northern Colorado. The split shocked the conference as the No. 9 ranked Sacramento State Hornets upset the Lumberjacks on Thursday night, 82-66.
The Lumberjacks had a cold night from the floor, shooting 33.9 percent (21-62) while the Hornets shot 49.2 percent (32-65). NAU trailed 52-30 at the half and outscored the Hornets 36-30 in the second but couldn't make up any ground. The Lumberjacks were out-rebounded 51-to-37 and outscored in the paint, 42-20. Northern Arizona made 10 triples but struggled at the free throw line making 14-of-30 (46.7%), after entering the game ranked fifth nationally in free throw percentage.
The Lumberjacks returned to the win column with an 89-73 victory over Portland State on Saturday afternoon at Findlay Toyota Court.
Five players scored in double figures for the Lumberjacks, who improved to 19-7 and 11-2 in Big Sky Conference play. Northern Arizona earned the season series sweep over the Vikings, who dropped to 6-20 and 1-13.
Sophie Glancey, the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, led the Lumberjacks with 21 points and nine rebounds, making 8-of-17 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line with two blocks. Emily Rodabaugh, who missed Thursday's game, returned to add 18 points for NAU with three triples on 6-of-11 from the field.
SERIES HISTORIES: The series history between Northern Colorado and Idaho is relatively new considering the lengthy history with the other Big Sky teams. The teams are tied at 9-9 overall since the first meeting in 2015.
Earlier this season, the Vandals limited the Bears, who were ranked No. 1 in the conference and No. 30 in the nation for scoring offense (77.8), to only 56 points on 1/27/24. Schmitt went off, scoring a season-high 15 points including a 7-8 (87.5%) performance from the free throw line. Johnson was right behind Schmitt with 14 points featuring 100% (3-3) from the free throw line. The Vandals won 60-56.
Idaho has a 23-17 record over Northern Arizona. The teams first met in 1988, where the Lumberjacks won 79-66.
Earlier this season, the Vandals dropped their fourth straight conference game at Northern Arizona, 65-53 on Thursday night. Four Vandals recorded eight points, including Freshman, Caldwell off the bench. The Lumberjacks have won the past five meetings between the two teams as Idaho had its lowest number of rebounds all season.
