With the Feb. 20 game hanging in the balance and the clock ticking down—ICCU Arena roaring with every dribble—the Vandals had just cut the lead to four points with 1:41 remaining, now needing a stop.
The Vandals’ relentless full-court pressure did not bother the Lumberjacks as they got the ball across halfcourt. Lumberjack senior guard Leia Beattie received the ball in the corner. She drove toward the basket, and just as she was going up for a layup, she spotted open junior guard Taylor Feldman at the top of the key.
Beattie dished to Feldman. The ball left her hand in one fluid motion, slicing through the air. Time slowed as it headed toward the hoop. A hush fell over the arena, and then, with a clean swish, it dropped through the net. The Lumberjacks took a seven-point lead and held off the Vandals’ last-minute comeback attempts. They escaped Moscow with a 70-65 win over the Vandals, dropping Idaho to a 16-9 (8-6) record.
The Vandals have lost three straight games now; however, Head Coach Arthur Moreira saw progress that he liked from his team.
“I hate talking about moral victories, but we showed that we belong tonight,” Moreira said. “NAU has made three Big Sky championship appearances in a row with the same roster. It sucks to lose three games in a row, but I can tell you, we have a lot more confidence after today’s game than we did on Saturday.”
Last month, the Vandals traveled to Flagstaff to face Northern Arizona and were hammered 106-76 in their worst defensive showing of the season. This time, they knew they needed to improve their defense and intensity if they wanted to walk out of ICCU Arena with a win. The Vandals started the game just how they wanted to, especially defensively.
“We worked on it this week. I wanted us to have a more aggressive mindset,” Moreira said. “I feel like we took them back a little bit. They weren’t quite ready for how aggressive we were. That’s the mindset we have to play with; we have to be the toughest team on the court day in and day out.”
Idaho got off to a hot start on the back of junior guard Anja Bukvic, who came out on a mission. She scored 11 of the Vandals’ first 13 points, and Idaho and Bukvic were rolling early. Bukvic, who has struggled to be a consistent scorer, credits her hard work and aggressiveness as the keys to her explosive start to the game.
“I just try to play hard for my team,” Bukvic said. “I had 11 points before the media timeout. If I have a hot start, we are going to go with the flow and do whatever we can to win the game.”
On defense, the Vandals’ full-court pressure was causing problems for the Lumberjacks, who sometimes had trouble getting the ball up the floor and forced 16 Lumberjack turnovers.
Idaho kept its foot on the gas pedal and got some separation from the Lumberjacks. Sophomore guard Hope Hassmann made two free throws to put the Vandals up ten points. Idaho’s pressure caused another turnover, which led to Hassmann knocking down a corner three-pointer to give the Vandals their largest lead of the game, 22-9.
The Lumberjacks ended the quarter in a 5-0 run capped by a three-pointer by Beattie to cut the Vandals first quarter lead to 22-14.
Both defenses tightened up in the second quarter, and a back-and-forth defensive battle led to the Lumberjacks outscoring the Vandals 14-12 in the quarter. The Vandals’ once 13-point lead was now 34-28 heading into the locker room.
After holding the Lumberjacks to 28 points and under 35% shooting in the first half, Northern Arizona’s offense came alive in the third quarter at the Vandals’ expense. The Lumberjacks got out to a quick 8-3 run behind back-to-back three-pointers by Beattie and had the Vandal deficit to just one.
The Lumberjacks took their first lead of the game on the next possession when Beattie hit Feldman on the fast break for a finger roll layup to give them the lead. From there, the game went back and forth, and the Lumberjacks held a 49-47 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The game resumed the back-and-forth action, but a 5-2 run from Beattie, capped by a three-pointer, gave the Lumberjacks the separation they needed to pick up the road victory.
Beattie led all scorers with 21 points on 6/9 shooting, including 5/6 from beyond the arc. Bukvic, who got off to a perfect 5/5 start, cooled. She led the Vandals with 16 points on 6/11 shooting. Hassmann also had a great showing, putting up 13 points and graduate guard Olivia Nelson ended with 11 points and five assists.
The Vandals will stay home as they host 13-13 (6-9) Northern Colorado, whom they defeated 68-57 last month in Greely.
The Vandals and Bears will tip off on Saturday, Feb 22, at 2 p.m. in the ICCU Arena.