FINAL SCORE: Idaho 87, Washington State 85
RECORDS: Idaho (1-0), Washington State (0-1)
IDAHO LEADERS: Kyra Gardner (26 points),
Kyra Gardner (nine rebounds), Hope Hassman (four assists)
NOTABLES:
- This was Idaho's first win over Washington State since the 2003-2004 season (72-57)
- Idaho records its first win in Pullman since 1998 (86-79)
- Kyra Gardner set career highs in points (26), rebounds (nine), three pointers (six), and steals (five) in the game against her old team
- Ana Pinheiro scored a new career high of 16 points (prev. 12 vs. Montana Tech)
- 87 is the most points scored by the Vandals since Nov. 27, 2024 against Montana Tech (94)
- Idaho out-rebounded Washington State 44-34
- The Vandals outscored WSU 14-2 on fast break points
QUOTABLES: Idaho Press Conference with Arthur Moreira and Kyra Gardner
PULLMAN, Wash. – Idaho Vandals Women's Basketball tipped off its season on Monday morning with a historic 87-85 victory against its rivals from across the Palouse, the Washington State Cougars.
A back-and-forth whistle-laden first quarter ultimately ended with the Vandals taking a 24-22 advantage over WSU. All-Conference guard
Hope Hassmann and
Ana Pinheiro each tallied six points in the first frame, Pinheiro scored a bucket as the horn sounded to give the Vandals their two-point edge.
Washington State started to create separation in the second quarter. The Cougar lead grew as large as 13 points at one point in the third, but a late Vandal run, highlighted by a
Hope Hassmann layup just prior to the buzzer cut the Cougar lead to eight as the teams headed to the locker rooms. Pinheiro had 11 at the half, just one point shy of her career high.
The outlook wasn't great for Idaho early in the third period, as the WSU lead ballooned to as much as 15 points on three different occasions, the last coming when the score was 66-51. Over the last 4:36 of the quarter, Idaho had a 15-3 run, capped by a Pinheiro layup, to narrow the gap to just three points heading into the final stanza.
Back-to-back three balls from
Sarah Brans and Gardner sparked the Idaho offense in the fourth to trim WSU's lead to a single point – and the Gardner Show was just starting. With the score at 72-73, Gardner connected on two more threes on the Vandals' next two possessions to give Idaho its first lead since 7:24 in the second quarter. The two rivals went back and forth over the next few minutes until a WSU deep ball gave the Cougars a three-point lead with 1:37 remaining. With 1:15 left in the game, Idaho turned the ball over, and things were looking grim for the Vandals, but UI locked in on defense and forced a much-needed stop.
With 46 seconds on the clock, the Vandals corralled the rebound and zipped up the court. Nine seconds later, it was
Hope Hassmann who found Gardner – who else? – who let the ball fly from outside and connected on
another three-pointer, her sixth consecutive hit from outside, to tie the ball game. WSU called a timeout, came back out, and promptly turned the ball over with just 14 ticks remaining, opening a victory window for the Vandals.
Idaho missed a jumper that was rebounded by
Ana Pinheiro, who had a career day and tallied a new personal best of 16 points. The Cougs were forced to foul, putting Debora Dos Santos on the line. The experienced senior got up to the charity stripe, knocked down a pair of free throws, and the Vandals took back a two-point lead.
Following a WSU timeout, the Cougars attempted a three, but the effort was blocked right in front of the Washington State bench by, you guessed it, Gardner, who rebounded it and flung the ball in the air as time expired, giving Idaho its first win over Washington State in 22 years.
UP NEXT: The Vandals head out on the road to play the UC Davis Aggies. That game will tip off at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 and can be seen on ESPN+
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