After a massive win against Portland State on Monday, Idaho took on Southern Utah in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal. The Vandals and the Thunderbirds split the regular season series 1-1. Southern Utah won the first matchup to start in-conference play and Idaho won the second back in February. Both teams won big in their respective arenas, so homefield advantage was not something either team could depend on.
The first quarter was back and forth with the largest lead being four by the Vandals. After only scoring six total points the night before, sophomore guard Sydney Gandy put the team on her back in the first quarter. Almost every point that Southern Utah put up, Gandy matched. The Vandals had a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter, Gandy had 15 of those 19. After the game, Gandy was asked about her hot streak in the first. “It was fun. I like having fun. My shots were going in and I wasn’t going to stop shooting.”
With three lead changes and one tie, the second half was just as exciting as the first. After Gandy’s hot streak in the first, graduate student guards Allison Kirby and Louise Forsyth took on the scoring load. Kirby had seven and Forsyth had four of Idaho’s total 14. There were three total three-point attempts in the quarter, all from the Vandals, but none of them fell. Although the Vandals still only held a one-point lead at the half, they could go into the locker room feeling good about their effort on both sides of the ball.
Once again, the Vandals came out the locker room on fire. “We had a good talk at halftime,” junior guard/post Beyonce Bea said. Idaho went on a 10-0 run to start the quarter, forcing Southern Utah to call a timeout. The timeout did what it was supposed to, get the Vandals cooled down and the Thunderbirds got back on track, but the damage had already been done. Idaho continued to match shots to keep their 11-point lead, ending the quarter up 56-45.
The fourth quarter quickly became the icing on the cake. Senior guard/post Tiana Johnson hit a mid-range jumper to start the quarter. Southern Utah matched and shortly after they hit their sole three of the game. The Thunderbirds and Vandals continued to match shots up until the final two minutes of the game. Down nine, Southern Utah started to intentionally foul. Idaho then went to the line and hit five straight free throws before Southern Utah would hit one of their own. After that the teams alternated trips to the line. Idaho finished the quarter hitting 10 free throws to win the game 77-64.
This game was the perfect example of a team win. Bea was in foul trouble early and played only nine minutes in the first half. “Staying out of foul trouble is going to be a huge thing,” Bea said. Despite Bea’s absence, the Vandals had a hot handed Gandy. With Gandy cooling off in the second, it was Kirby and Forsyth that took on the bulk of the scoring. Bea came back in the third and scored 10. Kirby led scorers in the fourth quarter with five, but six different Vandals got on the board. Gandy had 22 total points, tying her season high. Bea had 16 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes. Kirby rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.
A huge part of the Vandals win was limiting threes from Southern Utah. “It was the plan. We didn’t want them to go off from three,” coach Jon Newlee said. Idaho held Southern Utah to just 1-6 from behind the arc.
The Vandals continue Tournament play March 9th at 7 p.m. Pacific against Montana State in the semi-final game.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]