The Idaho Vandals and the Idaho State Bengals are two rivals enriched in history and tradition. The two faced off in a fierce rivalry, fighting for the King Spud Trophy.
Behind the worst shooting performance of the season, finishing 13/63 from the field, the Vandals dug themselves into a hole in the fight for King Spud as they fell 52-44 to the Bengals on Feb. 1. This performance left the Vandals 15-6 (7-3) on the season.
“Every game is a learning opportunity,” Head Coach Arthur Moreira said. “I always say I enjoy learning more without having to lose the game. We will look at the film on Monday, learn from it, see some things we must fix and move on.”
The emotion and tension of a rivalry game were on display as both Idaho and Idaho State came out of the gates slow and struggled offensively. The Vandals especially struggled shooting, going 2/12 in the first quarter. The usual high-powered offense was held to seven points, and the Bengals held a 9-7 lead after the first quarter.
Both teams were better in the second quarter, and the Bengals started to create separation. They held a 21-15 lead and were gaining momentum. The Vandals, needing someone to step up, turned to sophomore guard Hope Hassmann who provided a spark.
With Idaho down six, Hassmann drove into the lane. Before she got to the free-throw line, she stopped, stepped back and knocked down a jumper to cut the Vandals’ deficit.
On the next Bengal possession, Hassmann forced a steal and drove toward the other side of the court. The Vandals’ ball movement found Hassmann on the right wing, and she swished a three-pointer, bringing the Vandals to within one.
Junior guard Anja Bukvic read a pass from Idaho State, jumped the pass, went coast to coast, laid the ball up and the Vandals took the lead 22-21. Idaho State countered, ended the half on a 6-0 run, and took a 27-22 lead into the locker room.
Idaho State continued to stretch the lead out past double digits while the Vandals were still struggling offensively. Idaho State outscored Idaho 14-7 and held a comfortable 41-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Vandals tried to fight back, but some late turnovers and their lack of offense were not enough. The Vandals fell to the Bengals 9-2 in the ICCU Arena.
Sometimes, it’s just not your day, and today, for graduate forward Jennifer Aadland and the Vandals, it was not their day.
“They came to play harder than us,” Aadland said. “They won a lot of the 50 50 balls, and I think our defense struggled a little bit. We also didn’t shoot very well; I think that was what hurt us the most.”
The Vandals struggle from beyond the arc shooting and overall offense. Moreira credits Idaho State’s game plan for making the Vandals struggle.
“They did a great job,” Moreira said. “Huge credit to Idaho State; they outcoached us. That’s the bottom line. We didn’t have many lanes to drive like we normally do. They’re not super tall, but they’re a long team, so I felt their timing on when they’re attacking the gap or jumping in the passing lane bothered us a lot, and we just never got going offensively.”
Even with the Vandals’ struggles on the offensive end, graduate guard Olivia Nelson, who had a slow start herself, finished with 14 points and led the Vandals.
Aadland battled with the Bengals all game, finished with nine points and nine rebounds and connected on two three-pointers to help keep the Vandals in the game.
With the upcoming road trip for Idaho, they have to put this tough loss behind them and move on—something that Aadland believes the team will do.
“Same thing with NAU when we lost and came back against Weber,” Aadland said. “[We] have to put each game out of our head and be ready for the next one.”
The Vandals, who have proven resilient all season, will look to get back on track and go for the season sweep against Portland State and Sacramento State.
The Vandals have previously defeated Portland State 60-56 at ICCU Arena in a game in which the Vandals were outplayed for most of it. They will have to be at their best to pull off the sweep.
“Portland State’s a completely different team,” Moreira said. They play a different style and gave us some problems [last game]. They played better than us for [most] of that game, and we were able to escape with a win.”
“So, we got to see some things that worked last time. What didn’t work, fix it and get ready to get a win on Thursday,” Moreira said.
Idaho will tip off against the 4-14 (1-8) Portland State Vikings on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m.