Despite a less than great day shooting from the field, Idaho was able to pull away late against Sacramento State to pick up another win as the regular season winds down.
Idaho (18-9, BSC 15-3) is now on a five-game winning streak, completing another weekend sweep against Sacramento State (10-16, BSC 6-12) and remains in sole possession of first place in the Big Sky.
“I thought (Sacramento State) played so well today,” Idaho Head Coach Jon Newlee said in a news release. “Defensively, it was night and day from the game in Moscow, (Sacramento) came out with great energy for their senior – they are a talented basketball team.”
The Splash Sisters came through once again, scoring 51 of Idaho’s 69, knocking down nine combined 3-pointers.
The Vandals went into the nest as heavy favorites, but the Hornets came out with the intent of an upset, with four different players starting off on an 8-0 run.
Idaho got points on the board midway through the first quarter, but Sacramento State stayed one step ahead, maintaining the lead through the entire first quarter and went into the second with a 16-13 advantage.
In the second half, the Vandals tied up the score and eventually took the lead. Idaho freshman guard Gina Marxen contributed eight assists in the first half, jump starting the offense and giving Idaho a 36-33 lead going into the half.
The third quarter was much of the same, with both squads making runs and not letting the game get out of hand, with both teams swapping leads.
In the final quarter of play, the Vandals built a solid 10-point lead, but a 9-0 run by the Hornets cut it down to a one possession game with just under a minute remaining.
Idaho trailed by one late in the fourth, and after a timeout, senior guard Mikayla Ferenz knocked down a three to get the lead late.
A couple free throws from senior guard Taylor Pierce and some clutch defensive stops gave the Vandals their 15th conference win.
“We got to learn to fight through these games like we did today on the road,” Newlee said. “I felt so proud of them today to just keep fighting, to show the heart that we had today. It’s great and we are going to need that in the next couple games against Weber State and Idaho State.”
Idaho plays Weber State 6 p.m. Thursday in Cowan Spectrum.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected], [email protected] and on twitter @kellogg_zack.