For the first time this season, the Idaho women’s basketball team put together a solid performance through two halves to claim its second win of the season, beating UC Irvine 73-55 on Wednesday night.
Krissy Karr runs the ball through the defense during the Vandal game against Eastern Washington Tuesday evening in the Memorial Gym. The Vandals came out on top 68-66 after a last second drive and the team will travel to Missoula to face Tennessee State today at 6 p.m.
The Vandals set a program record against Montana for 3-pointers in a game with 14, and followed it up against UC Irvine by hitting 12 on the night. Idaho also only turned the ball over twice in the second half, allowing the Vandals to pull away for the win.
Idaho will stay in California when it battles UC Riverside on Friday. The Vandals lost to the Highlanders last season 70-57, a result Idaho coach Jon Newlee hopes does not happen again.
“We played them last year and it certainly wasn’t one of our best efforts, but I think Nottingham had 28 points against us,” Newlee said. “Our hands are going to be full on Friday, they are a very good basketball team.”
The Vandals looked like they were going to have another tough shooting night after shooting just 27 percent in the first half, but still went into the break with a 30-26 lead. Idaho came out of the locker room on fire and shot nearly 50 percent in the second half, including hitting seven of 15 from the arch. The Vandals held the Anteaters to 29 points in the second half while putting up 43.
Newlee said he was thrilled to see such a stellar second half out of his team, especially after the way his team has struggled to finish games this season.
“We have talked a lot about second halves,” Newlee said. “I told them if we hold them to 26 points in the second half, we’ll win this game.”
Another positive for Idaho was only turning the ball over seven times. Turnovers have also plagued Idaho this season. The Vandals out-rebounded the Anteaters 48-35 overall and out-rebounded them 20-9 offensively.
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for with that ratio,” Newlee said. “Their traps didn’t bother us tonight. We saw no surprises, and our offensive rebounding was amazing.”
The Vandals had four players in double figures, including freshman Christina Salvatore who put up a career-high 20 points. She was followed by junior Alyssa Charlston with 16, freshman Connie Ballestero with 15 and sophomore Krissy Karr with 11. Charlston was only one rebound shy of double-double.
For the Anteaters, Camille Buckley was the only player in double figures with 13 points. The Anteaters went on an early second half run before Idaho took the game over for good. With the result, both teams move to 2-6 on the season.
Kevin Bingaman can be reached at [email protected]
File Photo Steven Devine | Argonaut
Krissy Karr dribbles through the defense during the Vandals’ game against Eastern Washington Nov. 27 in Memorial Gym. The women beat UC Irvine 73-55 and visit UC Riverside Friday at 7 p.m.