After Montana State beat Idaho by six points in the Big Sky Tournament, the Vandals were looking forward to Dec. 29. They took on the Bobcats at home, with no students, and blew them out of the water. Their next game was closer, but they still came out on top, beating the University of Montana 79-71.
Montana State
This was a game that most Vandal fans likely circled when it was announced. Not only was it a home game to start conference play, but it was a rematch of one of the semifinal games at the Big Sky Tournament.
Senior guard/forward Beyonce Bea started things off with a jump shot in the paint to put Idaho up 2-0. With that jumper, Bea reached 1,500 total career points, placing her tenth in the Idaho scoring record book. As huge as the milestone was, Bea stayed at 1,500 until just over one minute remained in the first half.
Although the Vandals top scorer was struggling to get the ball in the hoop, things were fine and ‘Gandy’ for Idaho. Junior guard Sydney Gandy stepped up when the Vandals needed her most, hitting four threes in the first half. Her 12 points led all scorers and gave Idaho a 35-20 lead at halftime.
The Vandals went into the locker room on fire, and they came out just the same. After just 16 seconds had gone off the clock, graduate student guard/forward Tiana Johnson hit a three. Exactly a minute later she grabbed a rebound and got the ball to freshman guard Rosa Smith, who drained another three for Idaho.
Threes were coming down from everywhere, but the two most exciting ones happened in the final 45 seconds of the third quarter. Freshman forward Sarah Brans hit a three off an assist from Gandy with 44 seconds remaining, then hit an unassisted three with 00:00 left on the clock. Those were Brans’ only points, but they were some of the most electric points of the game.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were pretty much down and out. They were facing a 61-41 deficit and a team that was ready to put the nails in the coffin.
Not much happened in this quarter as MSU hit six shots and Idaho hit two. The Vandals successfully got their revenge as they beat the Bobcats 72-53 behind 20 points from Bea and 15 from Gandy.
Gandy also led the team in assists with four. Ashlyn Wallace took charge of the defense on the floor as she grabbed two steals. In the aerial side of defense, Bea took charge as she blocked two shots.
University of Montana
There weren’t as many emotions in this game, but it was still an in-conference opponent that Idaho was looking to beat.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter as no team could get a stable lead. Montana held the lead for the first two minutes before freshman guard Asha Phillips hit a three to put Idaho up 5-4. However, the lead was short lived as former Idaho player, redshirt junior Gina Marxen, hit a layup. After an Idaho native put Montana in the lead, a Montana native put Idaho in the lead. Johnson came back with a three to put the Vandals up 8-6. This back-and-forth play continued until 1:28 remained in the quarter as Gandy hit a three to put Idaho up seven. The quarter ended with Idaho holding a 25-16 lead after a layup from Smith.
The second quarter was mostly more of the same. Montana was able to cut Idaho’s lead down to two points, but then the Vandals went on a 12-1 run to end the quarter. All 12 of those points were scored by Bea in just under two minutes.
Idaho was up 45-32 at the end of the first half, and they came out of the locker room looking to inflict more damage. Montana was able to match most of Idaho’s shots, but they couldn’t score any extra baskets as Idaho’s lead never dropped below 12 points. Bea hit a layup to peak the lead at 20, but redshirt junior forward Carmen Gfeller made sure the Griz didn’t get too far behind. She led her team with six points and one block in the quarter, but Idaho was still up 15.
The Griz tried their best to make a comeback happen, but the Vandals were having no part in it. Although there was still 7:48 remaining in the quarter, a three from Gandy pretty much ended it. Montana was able to bring the score within 11 points twice, but each time, Johnson answered with two points. At the final moment, freshman guard Libby Stump put up a three to ensure the Griz didn’t lose by double-digits.
Bea was everywhere in the 79-71 win as she put up 30 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and two assists. Leading in assists was, once again, Gandy as she dished out eight. This time around, Johnson led in steals as she took three.
Idaho will be back in action tonight at 10-2 (1-0) Sacramento State at 7 p.m. This huge in-conference game can be streamed on ESPN+ or heard on Vandal Vision.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25