It has been a long week for the Vandals.
After losing to Texas Tech on Wednesday, the team faced No. 7 Oregon State on Saturday. The Vandals fell to the Beavers 69-44.
“Defensively, we did exactly what we wanted to do,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “Offensively, we were just bad.”
Idaho shot a season-low 20.3 percent from the field, and converted just 13 field goals.
Senior guard Connie Ballestero scored the first points of the game for the Vandals after ten minutes of play. The first quarter ended in a 16-point lead for Oregon State, as the Beavers led the Vandals 20-4.
A three-pointer from freshman guard Mikayla Ferenz and five free throw shots from sophomore post Geraldine McCorkell helped to close the gap for the Vandals as the first half ended.
Idaho went into halftime trailing 33-24.
Sydney Wiese led the way for Oregon State with a double-double that consisted of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Wiese also eclipsed 1,000 career points during in the game.
Gabriella Hanson and Taylor Kalmer also scored 10 points apiece for the Beavers.
Freshman Taylor Pierce led Idaho with 12 points, followed by McCorkell with 8. Senior post Ali Forde added 9 rebounds for the Vandals.
Idaho continued to struggle in the third quarter. A layup from junior point guard Karlee Wilson and free throws from McCorkell and senior guard Christina Salvatore reduced the Beavers lead to 53-29.
During the fourth quarter, Oregon State turned the nine-point lead into a 24-point lead, which proved too much for the Vandals to overcome.
Wilson ended the game with two free throws for Idaho.
Oregon State is now 7-0 on the season, while Idaho’s record has dropped to 7-3.
The Vandals next game is scheduled against Abilene Christian at 12 p.m. Dec. 20 at the Cowan Spectrum.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos
(Photo courtesy of Tess Fox)