The Idaho women’s basketball squad suffered their second loss in a row to Weber State Saturday with a final score of 105-88. A great shooting performance from Weber State boosted them above the Vandals at the end of the game.
Mikayla Ferenz finished the game with 33 points and nine rebounds alongside senior post Geraldine McCorkell, who finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
The first quarter of play came and went quickly. An extremely fast paced game was brought to the floor by both teams as they exchanged baskets throughout the entirety of the quarter. During the opening quarter alone there were six lead changes, resulting in a Vandal lead of 21 to 20 at the first break in action. To no surprise, the Vandals were led by Ferenz in the first quarter with 11 points.
While the Vandals quick scoring offense showed throughout the game, tight perimeter defense from Weber State did not allow for typical perimeter shooting from the Vandals. At the half time mark, Idaho was a measly 3-12 from behind the arc. Although the 3-point ball was not working for Idaho in the first half, they were able to use set plays to gain penetration into the paint.
Weber State was not particularly hot from behind the three-point line in the first half either, shooting only 6-18. With meager distance shooting from both teams in the first half, set plays were relied on heavily. Ferenz ended the first half of play with 21 points and seven rebounds. Although Ferenz had a big half, the end of the first half of play saw Weber State leading by a score of 44-36.
Weber State continued to put pressure on the Vandals after the half time mark. Along with this pressure, the Vandals shooting woes continued throughout the third quarter. Although Weber State continuously shot better than Idaho, the game was kept close with the end of the third quarter marked 71-65 in Weber States favor.
As the game continued into the final quarter, Weber State’s unmatchable shooting continued as they finished 31-63 from the floor, nearly 50 percent.
This proved to be too much for Idaho as they fell short with a final score of 105-88.
“Unfortunately, our defense didn’t show up today,” Idaho Head Coach Jon Newlee said. “We put them at the line 34 times, which we haven’t done that all year long, not even close.”
The Vandal’s look to bounce back from their two-game skid as they travel to Northern Arizona Wednesday in Flag Staff, Arizona.
Clay McKinley can be reached at [email protected]