MISSOULA, Mont. – The Vandal women's basketball team (14-15, 7-10) finished the road weekend with a loss 64-48 to Montana on their senior night. For the fifth game in a row,
Kennedy Johnson led Idaho with 19 points and five rebounds.
While Montana (24-68) only scored four more times from the field than Idaho (20-50), the Lady Griz were able to secure the win with 10 points from the free throw line and 15 second chance points. Idaho was crushed at the boards picking up only 27 in comparison to Montana's 47, 17 of which were offensive rebounds.
Johnson recorded points in the double digits for the 20
th time this season and the past eleven games. She was joined by
Sarah Schmitt with 11 and
Asha Phillips with 10 points. Schmitt also tied Johnson with five rebounds.
As the beginning whistle rang, the Vandals headed out on an early four-point lead with a pull up jump shot from Schmitt and a driving layup from Phillips. The lead persisted until two minutes left in the quarter when Montana tied it up at 6-6 with a layup. Idaho did not let down, gaining back the lead 11-9 with a Schmitt three-pointer. The Lady Griz responded, leveling it at 11 before a last-second foul sent Macey Huard to the charity stripe and the Lady Griz led 12-11 at the break.
The Vandals and the Lady Griz went basket for basket in the opening minutes of the second quarter, eventually tying the game once again at 19 apiece. With 5:58 left to play in the half, Montana regained the lead with a three-pointer. They would go on to hold the advantage for the rest of the match. The Vandals hit a rut, sitting at 21 points for over three minutes meanwhile the Lady Griz continued to tack on points. The buzzer rang, signifying the end of the half and the Vandals entered the locker room down, 34-27.
After the first 20 minutes, only three Vandals got on the scoreboard led by Johnson. Johnson recorded 12 of her 14 first half points in the second quarter alone. The rebound trouble was already apparent as the Lady Griz had a 17-13 advantage with seven offensive rebounds to Idaho's zero. Despite the deficit at half, the Vandals were shooting 56.5% (13-23) from the field while Montana recorded 37.5% (12-32). The key factor in Montana's lead could be attributed to their seven points from the free throw line, meanwhile Idaho had yet to attempt one all game.
In the third quarter, Idaho put up 12 points while Montana extended the lead with 17. Idaho finally got some points from the free throw line, going 4-4 thanks to
Sarah Schmitt and
Skylar Bea.
Ashlyn Wallace, who stepped in for an injured
Amalie Langer, scored her first points from beyond the free-throw line. Wallace, Johnson, and Phillips record the three made FGs on the quarter as Idaho shot an underwhelming 3-13 from the field.
Idaho ran out of gas in the final quarter as they scored only nine points, featuring a scoreless final five minutes. The Lady Griz continued to drive at the Vandals, deepening their lead to 64-48.
Jenna Kilty and
Michala Bork entered the game in the final minutes making their first appearances since Northern Colorado on 2/22.
Overall, the Vandals shot 40% (20-50) from the field, 28.6% (4-14) from three, and 4-4 from free throw while the Lady Griz shot 35.3% (24-68) from the field, 20.7% (6-29) from three, and 90.9% (10-11) from free throw.
Idaho currently sits at tied for sixth in the conference with Idaho State. The final seeding will be determined on Monday night after the final conference games conclude. The Vandals will take on Portland State at home at 6:00 p.m. and will be celebrating seniors,
Jenna Kilty,
Amalie Langer,
Hope Butera, and
Sarah Schmitt.
