Following its recent road-sweep, and overtime with Thursday over New Mexico State, Idaho women’s basketball is back in contention for the WAC, but will face a tough test at 5:30 p.m. Saturday when La. Tech comes to the Cowan Spectrum.
Idaho’s wins ended an eight-game losing streak. Senior captain Keri Arendse said the team came together and played with chemistry.
“I think we just have more confidence,” Arendse said. “We had a lot of fun with each other in Hawaii. I think everyone is just confident now and we know we can win.”
The Vandals will attempt revenge for their loss to the Lady Techsters 66-54 in Ruston, La., earlier this season. Idaho coach Jon Newlee said his team will have to rebound, cut down on turnovers and start with energy to come away with a win.
Rebounding
The Vandals aren’t gifted in the size department and have given up too many boards as a result. Newlee said he’s emphasizing the importance of rebounds coming into this contest.
“We’re going to have to rebound, there’s no question,” Newlee said. “They did a pretty good job of beating us up on the glass I think, and we’re going to have to do a much better job of getting up on the glass with them if we want to compete.”
The Lady Techsters grabbed 17 offensive boards against the Vandals last time they met. Idaho will have to be physical on the glass and minimize second-chance opportunities for La. Tech.
Turnovers
Turnovers have been an issue for the Vandals all season. In their last meeting Idaho gave up 23 to the Lady Techsters.
Taking care of the basketball was a big factor in Idaho’s road victories. Against Hawaii the Vandals only turned it over seven times. Newlee said minimizing turnovers is going to be key.
“We’re going to have to take good care of the basketball like we have, certainly like we did on the road, and get more shot attempts,” Newlee said. “That has been a problem for us, turning it over, but decision making was much better in the two road games than it has been.”
Energy
During the Vandals’ eight-game skid, their intensity drooped — especially at the start of games. Multiple times the Vandals fell behind in the first half and would surge in the second to come up just short. Newlee said his team showed energy and intensity on the road last week and will need to do the same to keep the wins coming.
“I think the big key on the road was our energy,” Newlee said. “The team really came together and did a good job of supporting each other and it kept our energy and enthusiasm up, even when we got down. We had no quit in us and I thought we showed a lot of heart and desire.”
This year’s young Vandals squad has had an uphill battle, but has shown improvement. La. Tech is a perennially tough opponent and will test Idaho.
Arendse said the team needs to keep working on the keys for the week and favorable results will follow.
“We just focused on coming out hard and we did take care of the ball which helped us,” Arendse said. “We focus a lot on rebounding so as long as we do those things, take care of the ball and rebound we’ll start winning some more games.”