Nothing screams “Thanksgiving break” like good college basketball. The Idaho women’s basketball team started it off by going 2-0 at the Bank of Hawaii Classic. Meanwhile, the men took a trip to Seattle and finished the break 1-1.
Cal State Fullerton
After losing to Cal Poly at home, Idaho had a sour taste in its mouth towards the state of California. In order to get that taste out of their mouth, the Vandals had to travel to the Aloha State to take on Cal State Fullerton.
The Vandals lead the all-time series 8-3 against the Titans, so they had to have felt good heading in.
The first quarter was all defense with the Titans forcing three turnovers and the Vandals snagging two. Idaho also pulled down nine defensive rebounds while Fullerton grabbed seven. The defensive effort led to a 9-6 score in favor of Idaho at the end of the quarter.
Quarter two was more of the same with Fullerton forcing six turnovers to Idaho’s three. However, the Vandals grabbed nine defensive rebounds while Fullerton only had five rebounds in total. Although they lost the turnover battle, the Vandals were better at turning defense into offense as they ran to a 22-14 halftime lead.
Both teams must have gotten a good halftime speech because the offense finally showed up. The third quarter saw the same number of turnovers, but also 33 points. Junior guard Ashlyn Wallace hit the sole three of the quarter to lead the Vandals with five points and two rebounds. Her efforts helped push the Vandals to a 39-30 lead going into the fourth.
Fullerton was able to take the final quarter, but it was too little too late. The Titans put up 17 points to the Vandals 16 and Idaho walked out with a 56-48 win.
Graduate student guard Sarah Schmitt, who followed Head Coach Carrie Eighmey to Idaho, led the offense with 12 points and three assists. She was also a huge asset on defense with six rebounds, one block and one steal.
The biggest leader on defense was graduate student forward Hope Butera. She pulled down 10 rebounds and had three blocks.
Also leading the team was graduate student guard Amalie Langer, who went on to also have a great game against Hawaii. She put up 10 points, snagged three steals and pulled down three rebounds against the Tigers.
University of Hawaii
If it weren’t for the fact that there was a basketball on the court, this game would have looked like a wrestling match between Idaho and Hawaii. The Vandals were called for 12 total fouls in the game while the Rainbow Wahine were called for 20.
Similarly to the game against Fullerton, winning the rebound battle boosted the Vandals to victory. They pulled down 10 total rebounds, six of which were on defense, while the Rainbow Wahine grabbed seven. Idaho was also on target at the free-throw line, hitting all four of their attempts.
For the first time in the tournament, offense was more important in a quarter. Idaho and Hawaii both pulled down 10 rebounds, and the Rainbow Wahine won the turnover battle, but the Vandals outscored them 16-10.
For fans who have watched Vandal basketball for a while, the third quarter felt like many third quarters of the past. Idaho took 17 total shots, but the only one that fell was a three from sophomore forward Sarah Brans. Meanwhile, Hawaii went 5/13 to make it a four-point game going into the fourth.
Luckily for the Vandals, the Rainbow Wahine fouled 12 total times in the final quarter. Idaho went 2/10 from the field while Hawaii went 5/17. However, Langer ended up at the free-throw line three times and hit all six shots.
Overall, Idaho won because of a dominant first-half performance. Langer was a leader on both sides of the ball with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. The biggest leader on defense was junior guard Kennedy Johnson as she pulled down 12 rebounds, nine defensive, and snagged one steal.
Now onto the Vandal men, who had two very different days in Seattle.
Seattle U
Of the 15 players on the Idaho men’s basketball team, six of them hail from Washington. Of those six, five are a 40-minute drive from Seattle. Needless to say, this game wasn’t a great homecoming.
It also wasn’t a great return for Head Coach Alex Pribble, who came to Idaho from Seattle University, as the Redhawks decided they wanted Vandal instead of turkey when they cooked Idaho 92-55.
Seattle U had one of the best first halves a team could have. It went 60% from the field and 57% from both beyond the arc and the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Idaho went 34.6% overall, 23% from three and 75% from the line.
Although it was a tough first half for Idaho, there was one bright spot (and it wasn’t just because his hair sticks out). Junior forward Kyson Rose, the one Washington Vandal not from the Seattle area, put up 10 points and pulled down three rebounds. However, he also had three turnovers.
For the Redhawks, it was Kobe Williamson. The junior forward from Australia put up the best first half by a Kobe in Seattle since Kobe Bryant put up 21 points against the Supersonics on Jan. 14, 2008. Williamson finished the half with 17 points, six rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Down 54-24, there wasn’t much Idaho could do. They mustered up 31 points, going 46% from the field, 25% from three and 44% from the line. If they got anything out of it, it was a chance to see redshirt freshman guard Titus Yearout put up five points.
Seattle U played two dominant halves while Idaho couldn’t stop anything or get anything going. The Redhawks finished 62% from the field, 52% from three and 56% from the line. They also won the rebound battle 37-21.
UC San Diego – “Battle on Black Friday”
If there’s one thing Idaho has been consistent about, it’s getting blown out one day and winning a close one shortly after at least once a season.
Last year, it was a 95-74 loss to Eastern Washington on Saturday followed by a 74-70 win over Montana State. This time, it was a 92-55 loss (see above) followed by a 73-70 win in overtime.
While the first half would have been a great time for one of the six Vandals from California to ball out, it was time for the West Coast to witness Montana basketball. Junior forward Juice Mims put up 12 points and grabbed four rebounds in the first half. The Billings, Montana, product was also efficient, going 5/6 from the field and 2/3 from the line.
Mims stepped back in the second half to allow the hometown kids to ball out. Trevon Blassingame, a sophomore guard from Auburn, Washington, went 4/5 overall and 2/3 from three in the second half. He was backed up by D’Angelo Minnis, a senior guard from Kent, Washington. Minnis added seven points with two shots inside and one three.
The reason this game was labeled the “Battle on Black Friday” by the commentary was because neither team was willing to back down.
At one point, Idaho was up 26-15 in the first half. At another, UCSD was up 40-33 in the second. With four minutes left, the Vandals were up 62-54, but that’s why teams play to the buzzer. With .8 seconds left, redshirt senior guard Bryce Pope put up a jumper in the paint and it fell, sending the game into OT.
Overtime was a lot of defense with a few big offensive highlights. The biggest highlight came with 22 seconds left on the clock when redshirt junior forward Terren Frank got a steal. The steal led to the perfect fastbreak opportunity, which ended in a Blassingame layup to put Idaho up 70-69.
With four seconds left, Pope looked to break the hearts of every Vandal fan in the arena. He spun around Blassingame and put up one of the most beautiful jumpers a player can take. However, the ball bounced around the rim, landed in the hands of Mims, and found its way to Minnis, who got fouled with three seconds left. Minnis went to the line, hit both, and gave Idaho its first D1 win of the season.
Idaho ruined UCSD’s hopes of going 5-0 for the first time since 2019 but fulfilled its hopes of being .500 six games in (not including exhibition games) for the first time since that same year. It was also the first time Idaho beat a “University of California” team since a 68-66 win over UC Davis on Dec. 3, 2016.
The Vandals will return home to face the University of Denver at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29. Idaho fell to the Pioneers 68-63 on the road last season.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25