After a five-game winning streak was snapped on Jan. 13 against Eastern, the Vandals looked to respond. On a snowy night in Moscow, 1,152 people gathered in ICCU Arena to watch the first of two Idaho-Idaho State games of the season.
Idaho, behind a sloppy game lacking any rhythm, fell to their in-state rival 61-56.
The game began with the Bengals jumping out to a 7-3 lead as the Vandals couldn’t make a field goal in the first three minutes. That was until graduate guard Sarah Schmitt hit a three-pointer to get the Vandals first field goal and within one point of the Bengals.
After the three-pointer, the Vandals struggled to hit shots, and the Bengals, behind a jumper by freshman forward Piper Carlson, went ahead 19-10, their largest lead of the game. Schmitt made another three-pointer to cut the lead to 19-13, giving the Vandals confidence heading into the second quarter.
The Vandals used the wave of momentum and went on an 8-0 run with all eight points scored by sophomore forward Sarah Brans. With Idaho in the lead for the first time at 21-19, ISU was forced to call a timeout. The rest of the quarter was back and forth between the two teams, but a late three-pointer by junior Guard Maria Diaz put the Bengals up 34-28 at the half.
The Vandals finished the first half shooting 10-for-28 from the field, 5-for-17 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 from the line. The Bengals were better, finishing the half 14-for-32 from the field, 4-for-7 from three, and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Bengals came out of the halftime break and extended the lead right away. The Vandals, however, would not go away. Idaho ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run behind a buzzer-beating layup by Schmitt to cut the lead to just eight.
The fourth quarter began back and forth, but some late turnovers and poor shot selection by the Vandals vaulted the Bengals in the lead and put them in a deficit they could not overcome. Idaho fought and clawed until the end but was defeated 61-56, giving them their second straight conference loss.
The Vandals committed a season-high 22 turnovers in the loss. Head Coach Carrie Eighmey spoke about what caused her team to make so many turnovers.
“I thought that at times we did a really good job of attacking to create an advantage. There were other times I felt we put ourselves in some tough spots where we couldn’t get the ball, and we ended up turning the ball over,” she said.
Despite the loss, there were a few bright spots for the Vandals. Brans put up 16 points, a tie for her career-high behind four three-pointers. Junior forward Kennedy Johnson finished with eight points and ten rebounds, providing critical rebounds for the Vandals.
Eighmey spoke about Bran’s performance on both sides of the court saying, “I thought Sarah played well. She’s somebody that we’ve relied on to step up, and she did a great job both offensively and defensively.”
With the loss, the Vandals drop to 9-7 and 2-2 on conference play. They will look to rebound and put in a complete 40-minute game as they host Weber State this Saturday, Jan. 20, at 5 p.m. as the Vandals look to get themselves back in the win column.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10