Vandals win 47-44 in Santa Barbara
It was an intense, see-saw battle in Santa Barbara where the Vandal women’s basketball team was able to come out on top 47-44 Monday night.
The Vandals raced out to a 14-2 lead in the first half, but UC Santa Barbara went on a 15-3 run to end the first half.
UCSB’s hot streak bled into the second half as well, as the Vandals didn’t score until junior 3-point-specialist Christina Salvatore hit her second 3-pointer on the night.
The win improves the Vandals to 1-1 on the season. They now begin preparations for their home opener against San Diego Saturday Nov. 22 in Memorial Gym.
The team discussed the pressure at halftime and the way the team adapted to the pressure proved to be vital, Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. They were able to escape with a win, which showed a lot of character.
“Escape out of here is right. I thought our kids showed a lot of heart,” Newlee said.
After guard Stacey Barr scored 11 of the Vandals’ first 17 points, UCSB began implementing a full-court press late in the first half that gave Barr and the rest of the Vandals fits. The Melbourne, Australia, native ended the night with 20 points, including two clutch free throws with 25 seconds left after Karlee Wilson got her hand on a UCSB ball with just over a minute remaining.
Those free throws proved to be vital as a UCSB’s 3-point attempt fell short as time expired.
The Vandals struggled offensively, managing a mere 34 percent from the field, including 36 percent from 3-point range.
However, that doesn’t mean the Vandals didn’t get the points when they needed from long range. Salvatore hit four of her five from long range in the second half, including one with a little under six minutes left to tie the game at 37-37.
Along with Salvatore, sophomore guard Agueda Trujillo — seeing her first minutes of the season — provided a spark for the Vandals off the bench with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting all in the second half.
The spark Trujillo provided and Salvatore’s impressive night proved vital in the victory, Newlee said.
The Vandals got another good performance in the post by sophomore Brooke Reilly, notching seven rebounds on the night after leading the team in rebounding in the season opener. She and the Vandals had their hands full down low as they attempted to defend UCSB’s Clair Watkins. The 6-foot-4 center finished the night with 11 rebounds.
With Ali Forde not playing with the team yet due to her current obligations to the Idaho volleyball team, which is playing in the Big Sky Tournament Thursday.
Forde could have potentially matched up well with Watkins one-on-one, but Reilly, along with some of the other young players, have really stepped up into a bigger role in the post and defensively against her, Newlee said.
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]