MOSCOW, Idaho - The Vandal women's basketball team earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will take on No. 3 Montana in the quarterfinals on March 11th at 1:30 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and as always, the game will also be broadcast on the radio at AM 840 KMAX or GoVandals.com.
ABOUT IDAHO: The Vandals (14-15, 7-10) wrapped up their regular season with a 60-44 win over Portland State on Monday night in the ICCU Arena. Idaho finished the regular season 15-15 overall and 8-10 in conference play.
Kennedy Johnson led the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. With her first double double of her career, Johnson became the second Vandal to record one this season, preceded by Hope Butera with three (last on 12/28 vs Sacramento State). Skylar Bea grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, five of which were on the offensive side helping the Vandals to nine second-chance points.
The win and an Idaho State loss (to Montana) granted the Vandals the No. 6 seed entering the tournament. Idaho last faced Montana just eight days ago (3/2) resulting in a 64-48 loss in Missoula. The winner of tomorrow's match will go on to face NAU in the semifinals on Tuesday.
ABOUT MONTANA: The Lady Griz concluded the regular season with a record of 21-8, its most wins since 2014-15, which was also the last time the Lady Griz won at least 13 league games, which they did this season, going 13-5.
Carmen Gfeller had 10 points and eight rebounds, Dani Bartsch grabbed 14 boards, her seventh time in nine games with 10 or more, and added five assists, and Gina Marxen totaled nine points in the win over Idaho State on 3/4.
MULTI-THREAT JOHNSON: Kennedy Johnson has solidified her position as a big guard on the Vandals this season. The junior transfer from UCSB has been a force for Idaho on both sides of the court and has been overall one of the most efficient athletes on the court.
Johnson became the seventh Vandal to earn the First-Team accolade since Idaho rejoined the Big Sky in the 2014-15 season. Johnson has made her mark on the conference in her first season at Idaho averaging 15.78 PPG in conference play, which ranks second overall. Johnson ranked top-five among the Big Sky, through the conference season, in field goal percentage (43.9% - 3rd), free throw percentage (89.7% - 1st), steals (32 – 5th), blocks (17 – 5th), and defensive rebounds (97 – 5th).
Johnson has amassed 410 points (13.67 PPG) so far this season, a new career-high after scoring only 105 (3.5 PPG) last season for UCSB. She leads the Vandals in total points, field goal attempts (358), field goals made (159), free throw attempts (76), free throws made (64), rebounds (203), steals (46), blocks (26), and is second in assists (49) and total minutes (888).
LANGER LOCK DOWN DEFENSE: In the first year of the honor, Langer earned her spot on the Big Sky All-Defensive Team. Langer has been the go-to player this year to go toe-to-toe with the toughest individuals in the conference. Langer's stats do not adequately show the difficulty that she caused for Idaho's opponents.
Langer had the conference's second-best performance with five steals at Northern Arizona on 1/25/24. She also ranks No. 15 with 23 steals in conference play and No. 12 with 39 steals overall. On the Vandals, she ranks fourth in total points (214), third in free throw attempts (58), free throws made (45), steals (39), and minutes played (865).
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT HISTORY: In the years that Idaho has participated in the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals have a 15-10 overall record. Since the tournament moved to Boise as a neutral site, Idaho has gone 7-4.
The Vandals have won the tournament once, in 2016 (Reno, Nev.) but have been to the championship match five times total, most recently in 2021 (84-49 loss to Idaho State).
