FINAL SCORE: Idaho 60, Eastern Washington 63

RECORDS: Idaho (16-8, 8-5), Eastern Washington (10-15, 6-7)

IDAHO LEADERS: Olivia Nelson (20 points, 9-19 FG), Jennifer Aadland 9 rebounds), Hope Hassmann (5 assists)

NOTABLES:

• Olivia Nelson led the team in scoring for the ninth time this season, surpassing her conference scoring average (16.1 ppg) with a 20-point effort
• The Vandals outrebounded the Eagles 46-28
• Idaho shot a flawless 9-9 from the free throw line
• The Vandals trailed by as many as 16 (46-30) with 3:16 left in the third quarter
• Idaho splits the season series with EWU

CHENEY, WASH. – Despite an unreal second-half surge and a 20-point effort from Olivia Nelson, the Idaho Vandal Women's Basketball team's comeback effort fell just short against the Eastern Washington Eagles by a score of 63-60.

It was a slow start to the game for the Vandal offense which was only able to muster 12 points in the opening frame and trailed by five points after the first. At halftime, EWU had extended its lead to 13 points and appeared poised to pull away with a 16-point advantage near the end of the third frame, but the Vandals never quit.

A converted and one from Jennifer Aadland put a stop to the bleeding and served as a catalyst to a 7-0 Vandal run. Idaho cut the deficit to single digits by the end of the period with a buzzer-beating layup from Ana Beatriz Passos.

Nelson carved through the Eagle defense to start the fourth and made a layup to get things going for the Vandals in the final period. EWU got back out to an 11-point lead at 56-45, but Sarah Brans made a layup, then an Aadland block on the defensive side led to an Ella Uriarte triple to give the Vandals even more momentum and trim the deficit to half a dozen and forcing the Eagles to call a timeout.

A 10-4 scoring run for the Vandals ensued, culminating in a Nelson layup with just over a minute and a half left in the fourth, tying the game at 60. EWU forced an Idaho turnover which ended up as a breakaway layup, and Idaho's epic comeback effort fell just short.

UP NEXT: The Vandals host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in ICCU Arena on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6:00 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the Idaho ticket office at (208)-885-6466.

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