The Idaho women’s basketball program dominated both ends of the floor when the team hosted Southern Utah Thursday night.
The Vandals finished with a 93-48 victory against the T-birds despite a slow first quarter of play.
Idaho coach Jon Newlee said that the matchup was one of the team’s best performances of the year, both offensively and defensively.
“I think we did what we wanted to do from a defensive stand point,” Newlee said. “Then once we got rolling offensively, it was really hard for them to stop us.”
The Vandals finished the game shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.
Idaho freshmen Taylor Pierce and Mikayla Ferenz emerged as main contributors against the Thunderbirds. Pierce led the Vandals with 17 points and with two buzzer-beating treys, while Ferenz posted a total of 14 points.
The Thunderbirds struggled throughout the night in an attempt to defend the powerful Vandal offense.
“It’s so hard to guard us because you can’t really help because if you help we’re going to knock down a three,” Pierce said after the game, “and if you don’t help we’re going to drive and either shoot or get a layup. It’s difficult for other teams to figure out how to guard us.”
Idaho senior Christina Salvatore contributed 15 points and collected two rebounds for the Vandals.
“I think we’re pretty hard to guard off the bounce alone, so I think teams either have to help or stay out and if they stay out we’re pretty good at finishing,” Salvatore said. “When they help we have a shooter that can knock down shots, so once we get into a rhythm I think we’re pretty hard to guard.”
The Vandals proved the depth of their bench once again with the performances from junior Agueda Trujillo and sophomore Bethany Krause. Trujillo finished with 6 points while Krause added 5.
“They work so hard in practice, and I love to give them the chance to get in the game and show what they’ve been doing, especially at home,” Newlee said. “Everyone that went in did a really good job tonight, so I was proud of them.”
Salvatore said the team would focus on a strong start and staying tough defensively in the team’s game Saturday.
“We just need to feed off of this,” Salvatore said.
Newlee said the team’s energy is a determining factor the next time they step on the court.
“We need to bring out defensive intensity on Saturday,” Newlee said. “They are very athletic and they can score and they can play, so we need to bring out defensive intensity Saturday if we want to get a sweep at home.”
The Vandals take on Northern Arizona 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected]