The slow start for the Idaho women’s basketball team continued over the holiday break when the Vandals fell to Portland and Montana.
Steven Devine | Argonaut
Alyssa Charlston battles through the defense while trying to get a shot up during practice Monday evening in Memorial Gym. The Vandals will face Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Memorial Gym.
With the losses, the Vandals’ record fell to 0-4 on the year. Idaho has kept most of their games close so far, but haven’t been able to put it all together for a win. They will be back in action on Tuesday when they face Eastern Washington in Memorial Gym.
The Vandals played a stellar first half against Portland, only to see it evaporate in the second. The Vandals went into the locker room at the half with a 31-21 lead and increased the lead to 18 before the Pilots started chipping away. Portland then went on a 14-2 run to take the momentum. The game remained close, but the Pilots used their physicality to pull away and take a 62-56 victory.
Idaho coach Jon Newlee said he wasn’t happy at all with the way his team reacted to Portland’s physical play.
“We got absolutely abused inside, and that’s got to change because every team is going to come in here and try to do the same thing,” Newlee said. “We’ve got to find someone who is tough enough to go in there and rebound and fight through that.”
Junior Alyssa Charlston echoed Newlee about Idaho’s inability to handle physical play.
“They were physical but we should be able to handle that,” Charlston said. “We were prepared and we had the lead. In the end it was a physical battle that we lost because they were getting so many o-boards. It doesn’t feel good.”
Idaho returned to the court but once again came up short against Montana. The Grizzlies seized momentum in the first half and had a 16-point lead over the Vandals at the half. The Vandals responded with a 10-0 run in the second to tighten things up, but Montana recovered and put the Vandals away for good, cruising to a 71-50 win.
“I think that was a great run, and then we came back and missed a couple chippies and gave up a couple of o-boards and all of a sudden, it got pushed back to 16,” Newlee said. “We’ve got to be able to sustain that kind of effort and that intensity throughout the game, not just in stretches.”
Montana out-rebounded the Vandals 48-35, pointing back to the lack of physicality the Vandals are playing with.
“It’s a physical basketball game,” Newlee said. “If they block your shot or if they hit you and there’s no call, you’ve still got to go up strong the next time, and I thought we backed down when they got physical with us. Teams are going to do that until we respond and we’re able to go up strong and finish at the rim or get to the line and knock down some foul shots.”
Tuesday’s game will end a nine day break for the Vandals and begin a busy stretch as Idaho plays three games in four days. Newlee said he hopes the break will help his team refocus.
“The break comes at a good time for us right now, both mentally and physically,” Newlee said. “We can get some of our sick people back, get some people healed up and have a great week of practice by the time we face Eastern.”
Kevin Bingaman can be reached at [email protected]