The Idaho women’s basketball team fell to No. 1 seed Baylor 89-59 during the first round of the NCAA tournament in Waco, Texas.
The size and physical play of the Baylor roster allowed the Bears to dominate the boards, as the Vandals were outrebounded 54-31.
“That is one hell of a basketball team,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said. “I heard they’re the second-best team in the country, and in my mind there’s no doubt about it. Those guys can go win the national championship.”
Idaho found itself in an early hole, as the Bears held the Vandals to just nine first quarter points en route to a 21-point lead.
 Idaho shot 1-14 from behind the arc during this span.
“We just wanted to keep attacking and come out with energy from the jump,” said Baylor senior point guard Niya Johnson. “We didn’t want to be that team that was having to press in the fourth quarter just to get back in it. We wanted to get it going from the tip.”
The Vandals responded with 21 points in the second quarter to reduce the deficit, but the Bears entered halftime with a 47-30 lead.
Senior post Ali Forde led the Vandals in the first half with eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Taylor Pierce added six points on two 3-pointers, while sophomore post Geraldine McCorkell went 2-5 from the floor.
Baylor sophomore guard Kristy Wallace led all scorers in the first half with 13 points on 5-8 shooting. Junior forward Nina Davis contributed nine points and five rebounds, while redshirt junior guard Alexis Jones provided eight points and four assists.
The Bears outrebounded the Vandals 26-16 in the first two quarters.
“Our start was very disappointing to me, from an offensive and defensive standpoint,” Newlee said. “We had hoped to come out and do a little better job out of our zone of finding shooters. You’ve got to pick your poison with Baylor.”
Idaho shot 18.2 percent from 3-point range during this span, compared to Baylor’s 46.2 percent.
Baylor continued its dominating offensive performance with 22 points in the third quarter to extend its lead to 69-46.
The Bears opened up the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, en route to an 89-59 defeat of the Vandals.
“We would have liked for a better result,” Newlee said. “I know our seniors had hoped that as well. But our younger players are going to learn from this experience and when we get back in the gym in the spring and in the fall, we are going to be a lot better for it.”
Forde narrowly missed a double-double and finished as Idaho’s leading scorer with 17 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Christina Salvatore added 12 points, while Pierce provided another nine points.
Jones led all scorers with 23 points for Baylor, while Davis contributed 18 points and seven rebounds.
Baylor shot 50 percent from the field to earn the victory over the Vandals.
Idaho converted nine of 43 shots from 3-point range, finishing with a 20.9 shooting percentage.
The Vandals finish the season with a 24-10 record. The team earned a 13-5 record in Big Sky Conference play and claimed the conference title with a 12-point win over Idaho State.
“There is no quit in these Idaho Vandals, and that is what makes them that special of a group,” Newlee said. “I really love them.”
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom
(Photo Courtesy by Idaho Media Relations)