FINAL SCORE: Idaho 85, Northern Arizona 57
RECORDS: Idaho (24-5, 15-1), Northern Arizona (10-19, 6-10)
IDAHO LEADERS: Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva (14 points),
Kyra Gardner (11 rebounds), Gardner (four assists)
NOTABLES:
- Idaho has now won 13 games in a row, tying the second-longest winning streak in program history
- This win marks Arthur Moreira's 42nd career win, tying Tara VanDerveer for fifth most wins in Idaho history
- The Vandals recorded a new season high with 66 rebounds, the most they've gathered since 2021 against LCSC.
- Idaho now has a chance to clinch the Big Sky Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Conference tournament on Saturday.
- Idaho swept NAU for the first time since the 2019 season.
- This was the second time Ana Beatriz Alves Passos da Silva has led the team in scoring this season.
QUOTABLES
"Flagstaff is not an easy place to play. In my three years at Idaho, we had not won here. Our group was ready to play tonight. I thought our depth really helped us keep the high pace and the intensity on the glass, and we kind of ended up using the elevation to our advantage. We did a great job executing the gameplan on both sides." –
Arthur Moreira
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Idaho Vandals Women's Basketball team continued its historic winning streak on Thursday, cruising to an 85-57 win to sweep the regular-season series from the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
The wire-to-wire party got started early, and in the paint in the Walkup Skydome, as the Vandals won the tip,
Kyra Gardner dumped the ball down low for
Lorena Barbosa, who laid it in for two points, and the Vandals never trailed from there. Although NAU tied the game at four, an
Ella Uriarte three ball broke the deadlock and gave Idaho the lead for good. Idaho scored an additional 18 points in the first to take a commanding advantage to the second.
Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the opening frame.
Idaho blew the game open in the second quarter, starting with a layup from
Hope Hassmann to extend the Vandal advantage to 13. Idaho's defense stifled the Lumberjacks, holding them to just six points, and
Arthur Moreira's squad took a dominating 47-20 lead to the locker rooms at halftime. Early on in the third, Uriarte knocked home a pair of three pointers, and the rout was on. The Vandals lead extended to as much as 39 following a made jumper from
Sarah Brans with just over two minutes left in the third, and Idaho ultimately took a 66-31 lead to the fourth.
Idaho's dominance extended through the fourth quarter, as the Vandals comfortably cruised to the 28-point win in Flagstaff. Idaho has won 13 games in a row, tying the second longest winning streak in school history (15, 1984-85), and head coach
Arthur Moreira has now tied hall of famer Tara VanDerveer for most career wins in Idaho history (42).
UP NEXT: The Vandals return home to celebrate senior day on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. This is Idaho's doubleheader, with the Vandal men tipping off at 1 p.m. Tickets are good for both games. Coach Moreira has promised pizza to students who stay for the women's game.
Idaho has a chance to celebrate a regular-season Big Sky Conference championship on Saturday.
TICKETS: Tickets can be
purchased here or by calling the Vandal ticket office at (208) 885-6466.
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