Just because basketball is a team sport doesn’t mean there is always a team dynamic. Some teams rely on a star player to put up the points while the rest of the team slides under the radar. While this is all good and well for some teams, Idaho takes it a step further and allows the whole team to shine. Each win is an accomplishment that is earned by each and every member of the team.
The Vandals proved that in a strong win against Big Sky opponent Weber State, taking a staggering 95-77 win.
Without a full team effort, Idaho falls flat. The women’s team got off to a slow start through the opening ten minutes, allowing Weber State to take a 28-17 lead. While redshirt junior post Brooke Reilly got off to a hot start scoring nine points in just seven minutes of play, the rest of the team was not there to back her up.
By the first quarter it looked like the game was Weber State’s for the taking. Then the Vandals came to play. Not one, but all of them.
The game started to turn around for the Vandals heading into the half. Similar to the first 10 minutes Reilly continued to put points up on the board, finishing the half with 14. However, contrary to the first quarter she wasn’t alone in scoring. Sophomore guard Mikayla Ferenz went off matching Reilly’s 14 points while sophomore guard Taylor Pierce stepped up with six.
Although the Vandals went into the half down three, 42-45, their momentum was only just building.
Ferenz kick-started the second half with a clean 3-pointer to give Idaho the lead — and the team ran with it from there.
By the end of the third Idaho was looking like a team.
Four Vandals scored in the double digits while every team member had grabbed a rebound, totaling 34 and 19 in just 10 minutes.
If that doesn’t capture the depth of this team than the 43 total points put up by the bench should. In the third quarter alone, the Idaho bench tripled their contributions. The Vandal bench finished the half with ten points but quickly increased it to 30 by the start of the final quarter.
Some teams are lucky to have one player to call its “star player”. But against Weber State, Idaho found four.
Ferenz lead the way for Idaho with 28 points on the night, followed by 22 from junior post Geraldine McCorkell, 16 from Reilly, and 11 from Pierce.
It was a big win at home that could have easily gone to the Wildcats. Anyone who watched the first quarter would have assumed it would. But the team came to play and stepped up for a big Idaho win, and the team takes the game.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]
B[ll Schmidt
It was truly a team effort. Your article was very good. Keep up the good work!! One of the better games I have seen the Lady Vandals play!!