This weekend featured action from men and women’s basketball and tennis. Idaho women’s basketball and tennis were victorious Saturday while men’s basketball and tennis fell short.
The basketball season is on its last stretch of competition with the Big Sky Conference (BSC) Championships coming up in March. Idaho tennis is into the swing of its season with the women picking up their second BSC win.
Men’s Tennis
Idaho Men’s Tennis traveled to Spokane, Washington, and fell short to Gonzaga University.
Freshman Althaf Dhaifullah and sophomore Bruno Casino recorded a doubles win to start the match. Freshman Francisco Bascon and senior Esteban Santibanez grabbed their sixth win of the season to seal the doubles point for the Vandals.
In singles play, the Vandals were unable to defeat Gonzaga and lost all singles matches, giving Gonzaga the win.
“I thought this was the first match where we played the most complete in doubles. We executed and had great energy,” Head Coach Daniel Hangstefer said. “For singles, we have to figure out how to break down the opponent a little sooner. Gonzaga is a tough and well-coached team.”
The Vandals travel to Boise next to face-off against Boise State on Saturday.
Women’s Tennis
Idaho Women’s Tennis traveled to Greeley, Colorado, and defeated Northern Colorado for its second BSC win of the season.
The Vandals won five out of their six singles matches to secure a 6-1 win. Juniors Laura Spataro and Melissa Hutchet recorded their third singles wins of the season.
In doubles, Idaho swept Northern Colorado with each doubles team recording a win to secure the doubles point.
“We fought hard in doubles today. We played a lot stronger than our first few matches so we are really proud of our girls today,” Head Coach Babar Akbar said. “In singles, there were some ups and downs, but the girls stayed strong and came out on top. We are looking forward to the next match.”
The Vandals return for a home match against Eastern Washington on Saturday in Lewiston.
Men’s Basketball
Idaho Men’s Basketball fell at home to Sacramento State 67-56.
Senior guard Trevon Allen recorded 21 points and moved up to 10th all-time on the Vandals all-time scoring list. Graduate transfer Quinton Forrest recorded 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
The Hornets outscored the Vandals in the paint 44-26. Idaho closed the game outscoring Sacramento State 16-11 but were unable to make enough stops to come back in the game.
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“Sacramento State did a really nice job defensively and having a bit of physicality to them tonight. We didn’t execute early, even in parts of the second half with the sharpness and the quickness we wanted to. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get shots to go,” Head Coach Zac Claus said.
Idaho men’s basketball travels to take on Northern Colorado on Thursday.
Women’s Basketball
Idaho women’s basketball traveled to Sacramento, California, and defeated Sacramento State 96-88.
Head Coach Jon Newlee recorded his 300th career NCAA Division I win and freshman post Beyonce Bea scored a career-high 30 points along with 10 rebounds.
The Vandals scored a season-high 96 points in their win. Senior guard Lizzy Klinker also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought we did a great job of moving the ball through their zone and finding the open man,” Newlee said. “We talked at practice about fighting through the wall, and I thought Beyonce was really special tonight. We are used to seeing that in practice. We love seeing her play so hard and we are happy with the way she battled.”
The Vandals return home to host Northern Colorado on Thursday.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected]