Although it was senior night, it was the freshman, sophomores and juniors that led the Vandals to victory.
The game started off with senior guard Allison Kirby hitting a layup in the first five seconds. From there, the first quarter belonged to Idaho. Within the first three minutes, four of Idaho’s starters scored. Senior guard/post Tiana Johnson hit a three to put all the starters on the board and start an 11-7 run. This run put the Vandals up 26-15 going into the second quarter.
It was Northern Colorado that scored first in the second quarter, but Idaho was unphased. The first five minutes were back and forth, but then Idaho took control. Junior guard/post Beyonce Bea hit a layup off a pass from sophomore guard Sydney Gandy to start another Vandal run. Idaho was able to hold Northern Colorado to just four points in the final few minutes of the game, going into the locker room up 45-30.
The second half started with Johnson hitting a three with just 14 seconds off the clock. Idaho outscored the Bears 19-9 in the first six minutes of the quarter, but then the Bears fought back. Two threes from Northern Colorado sophomore guard Sydney Stensgard would start the Bears 13-3 run to end the quarter. Despite the large scoring output from the Bears, the Vandals were still up 15 going into the fourth.
As the fourth quarter started, Vandal fans were ready to start clapping along to the fight song. With two minutes off the clock, Gandy scored the first points with a two-point jumper. After Gandy hit a couple free throws 30 seconds later, freshman guard Ashlyn Wallace hit a three to put the Vandals up 17. The Vandals continued to hold their large lead up until the final minute of the quarter. With 1:10 left on the clock, sophomore guard Hannah Simental hit a three to bring the Bears deficit down to five. As the clock ticked down Northern Colorado was forced to foul and send Idaho to the line. Bea, Johnson, and Gandy would combine for eight points in the final 41 seconds of the game and help lead the Vandals to an 88-79 win.
The top scorer of the night was Gandy with 22. She also dished out 8 assists. Not far behind was Bea with 21 points and 10 rebounds, her sixth of the season. Wallace put up 16, going 5-7 from the field. Kirby was everywhere racking up 13 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Johnson rounded out the double-digit scoring starters with 11. She also had six rebounds and led the team in blocks with three.
The Vandals will look to up their win streak to five in their final home game against Portland State on February 28th at 6:00 p.m.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]