Stacey Barr’s 26-point, 15-rebound performance in vain
Despite a night in which Stacey Barr scored 26 points, including 10 from the free-throw line, the Vandals still struggled to get anything going offensively as they fell to Montana State 76-65 Thursday night in the Cowan Spectrum.
Amelia C. Warden | Argonaut
Ali Forde reaches for the opening tip during Thursday’s game against Montana State in the Cowan Spectrum.
The loss drops Idaho to 9-11 (3-6 Big Sky) on the season.
Barr, following up a 30-point performance in Idaho’s 71-58 victory over Eastern Washington last Saturday, got off to a hot start, scoring eight of Idaho’s first 10 points and 13 of the team’s 22 in the first half.
Idaho will have a quick turnaround after the loss as Montana, the current Big Sky leader, will come to town Saturday.
Along with her 26 points, she added 15 rebounds on the night including seven offensive boards, recording her 21st career double-double.
“She balled her tail off … She was out there going, man,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “I can’t ask any more out of Stacey Barr. I literally cannot ask any more than she has done in the last few games, especially tonight.”
She didn’t get much help offensively, however, as no other Idaho player scored in double figures.
Idaho struggled in all facets offensively, shooting a mere 26.8 percent from the field, and despite Barr’s standout performance, she didn’t get warmed up until well into the second half.
A few early baskets started Barr’s night, she said. Her second chance opportunities off of her seven offensive rebounds also triggered her hot night.
Despite the low offensive output, Newlee was thoroughly impressed with the defensive end of the floor. They just couldn’t get anyone but Barr going offensively.
“The fact that nobody besides Stacey Barr could make a shot when it counted was rough,” Newlee said. “You’re not going to win games like that, I am extremely disappointed in our offensive effort because I think we wasted a pretty good defensive effort.”
Barr made a number of good passes and the team had a number of good looks, they just weren’t falling. If Idaho converted some of those looks into points, it could’ve been a different game, Newlee said.
Amelia C. Warden | Argonaut
Ali Forde attempts a shot against Montana State during Thursday’s game in the Cowan Spectrum.
Twenty-eight of MSU’s 76 points came at the free-throw line, compared to 20 of Idaho’s 65, 10 of which came from Barr.
“When she gets the ball we know she is going to attack,” junior guard Connie Ballestero said. “She does it really well so I think everyone works that and if she not open she will pass.”
Newlee said the game would have been much different had the Vandals been better at making shots early.
Even with the porous offensive output, the Vandals were right in the game at the half, trailing 28-22. Then a 12-0 run by the Bobcats blew the game open.
“In the second half they just kept going,” Ballestero said. “We were getting stops at first, but we just weren’t scoring.”
Brooke Reilly ended the run, finishing the night with nine points and 12 rebounds, but by then it was too much to overcome.
“We had some open shots we just didn’t knock down, and towards the end we just were just kind of taking the first shot we got because we were down so much,” Barr said. “That probably put us in a bigger hole as well.”
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]