Championship bound: Vandals put ISU away in 4th
BOISE — With Idaho State surging and Idaho’s 13-point lead evaporating to just one point heading into the fourth quarter, Vandal women’s basketball coach Jon Newlee’s message to his team was simple.
“If you want your season to continue,” Newlee said, “then we’re going to play defense every single possession — we’re not taking anything off.”
They got the point.
The Vandals opened the fourth quarter with an 18-3 run and demolished any hope of a Bengals victory Wednesday at CenturyLink Arena in a Big Sky Conference tournament semifinal. Idaho won 66-51 to advance to its fifth conference title game in eight seasons.
“Once we did make some adjustments, I thought we were able to execute, and that’s something our team has been doing great in fourth quarters is executing offensively and locking down defensively,” Newlee said. “It’s kind of been our M.O. this year and it played out that way tonight.”
The second-seeded Vandals improved to 22-9 and will play top-seeded Montana State (25-6) at noon Pacific on Friday at CenturyLink Arena.
On the biggest stage of the season, Idaho’s two seniors shined the brightest.
Guard Lizzy Klinker paced UI with 13 points one day after spraining her left ankle at the end of a quarterfinal-round win against Portland State. Post Isabelle Hadden, a Boise native, added 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench.
“I just go into every game with a mindset of just (doing) whatever I can do to help the team win, and tonight it was score those baskets,” Hadden said.
Newlee said Klinker worked with team trainer Kassi Johnson for “about 24 hours” to get her ankle ready for the game. The senior, from Fairfield, Mont., looked more than ready to go, playing 33 minutes and scoring on her signature mid-range jumpers and driving layups.
“I was honestly surprised when I looked at my foot last night,” Klinker said. “I got a little tear and I was like, ‘This isn’t over, we’re going to fight through this.’ And so thankful for Kassi and God for healing me a bit so I can play.”
Idaho forged a 28-13 lead in the second quarter only for Idaho State to end the quarter on a 13-2 run to cut it to 30-28 heading into the locker room.
But in the third quarter, it was the Vandals’ turn.
Back-to-back 3s by Hailey Christopher (seven points) and Allison Kirby (nine points) pushed UI’s lead back to double figures with four minutes to go.
Sophomore point guard Gina Marxen added 11 points a day after going scoreless.
Dora Goles and Diaba Konate combined for 24 points for the third-seeded Bengals (18-13).
Idaho outscored ISU 28-14 in the paint and 19-9 off turnovers, while attempting 15 more shots.
The Vandals are the only conference team to beat the Bobcats this season. UI and MSU split their season series.
“I think the two best teams are playing Friday,” Newlee said, “and we’re looking forward to it.”
IDAHO STATE (18-13)
Goles 6-12 0-0 12, Konate 4-13 2-2 12, Bourne 2-10 4-6 9, Smith 3-3 0-0 6, Oltrogge 0-3 2-2 2, Moore 3-5 0-0 6, Barrientos 1-1 0-0 2, Vicente 1-3 0-0 2, Boswell 0-0 0-0 0, Sweeney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 8-10 51.
IDAHO (22-9)
L. Klinker 5-17 3-6 13, Marxen 4-14 1-1 11, Bea 3-8 1-2 7, N. Klinker 3-7 1-2 7, Pulliam 0-2 0-0 0, Hadden 6-9 0-0 12, Kirby 2-4 4-4 9, Christoper 2-3 2-2 7, King 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 12-17 66.
Idaho St. 11 17 15 8—51
Idaho 18 12 14 22—66
3-point goals — Idaho State 3-14 (Goles 0-2, Konate 2-6, Bourne 1-6), Idaho 4-13 (Marxen 2-7, Pulliam 0-2, Kirby 1-2, Christopher 1-1, King 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Idaho State 36 (Bourne 8), Idaho 36 (N. Klinker 8). Assists — Idaho State 10 (Bourne 4), Idaho 8 (L. Klinker 3). Total fouls — Idaho State 23, Idaho 10. A — 1,248.
You can view the press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhNA3RhH7Zg
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at swiebe@dnews.com, by phone at (208) 883-4624 and on Twitter at @StephanSports.