Montana is known as the Big Sky state, but the conference belongs more to Idaho after an emphatic season sweep of one of their Big Sky rivals.
The Vandals (13-8, 10-2 BSC) finished a season sweep of Montana State after a 90-65 win in the Cowan Spectrum. The win extends Idaho’s season win streak to six and the team has won its last four matchups with the Bobcats.
Idaho set the tone early on with an outburst from senior guard Taylor Pierce. Pierce shot 4-6 from 3-point range in the first quarter to put Montana State on their heels early. The Vandals’ 3-point shooting was not only enough to swing the game in their favor, but it was also historic.
By the time the dust had settled, Idaho had set a program record for made 3-pointers in a game with 19. Montana State had only six more total makes (25) than the Vandals had from behind the arc.
“It doesn’t get much better than shooting 50 percent from behind the 3-point line,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said. “We moved the ball well against all of their defenses and we had enough unselfish play to really contribute to our shooting tonight. Lots of smart decisions with the basketball today.”
Pierce went cold in the second and third quarters, shooting 0-3 from behind the arc between the first and fourth.
In the interim, senior guard Mikayla Ferenz had her own fireworks show. After being honored in the pre-game warmups for becoming Idaho basketball’s all-time leading scorer, Ferenz dropped 32 points on 12-20 shooting (6-11 3FG) to go along with three rebounds and four assists.
“In the second half they switched up their defense, which helped get me and Taylor [Pierce] looks,” Ferenz said. “We moved the ball really well because they were really face guarding Taylor (Pierce) and I, but thankfully we’ve got a ton of players who can make the most of their shots.”
The Bobcats tried a variety of strategies to contain Idaho’s potent offense, but nothing was particularly effective. After multiple zone schemed adjustments on defense, Montana State just could not overcome Idaho’s lights-out shooting performance, especially when compared with the Bobcats’ paltry 5-23 showing from behind the arc.
Montana State closed the deficit to single digits in the third quarter, but back-to-back threes from Ferenz kept any comeback hopes at bay. Idaho led by at least 20 points for most of the fourth quarter.
“We gave them some easy baskets for a minute there, but we managed to regroup as a team,” Ferenz said. “That was around when they went to their zone which helped pop me open and the team as a whole responded well to their runs.”
While Idaho fans have come to expect such outrageous offensive performances, the Vandals’ showing on the glass was noteworthy as well. Idaho secured a 44-31 advantage in rebounds, led by junior guard Lizzy Klinker with 13.
“They had really hurt us in Bozeman, but we made a conscious effort to take away some of their big things early,” Newlee said. “(Montana State) does a great job of getting on the glass so we made that a big point of emphasis in practice this week and our guys responded well. We really had to execute to finish things out the way we did.”
The win allows Idaho to keep pace at the top of the Big Sky, with Idaho State also winning Saturday to match the Vandals’ 10-2 record in Big Sky play. Northern Colorado lost to Portland State, relegating the Bears to a tie for second.
Up next, Idaho will travel to play Northern Colorado 1 p.m. Feb. 16.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker