WAC Women’s Basketball Recaps - Jan. 19
Boise State 82, Nevada 74
Box Score
BOISE, Idaho - Jackie Lee scored a season high 20 points to lead Boise State over Nevada 82-74 in Taco Bell Arena Saturday night in Boise. The Broncos recorded their third consecutive victory in league play by scoring 80 plus points in all three games. The high scoring win keeps the Broncos in reach of the conference leaders as two of the previously undefeated teams entering today lost on the road tonight. In addition to Nevada’s loss at Boise State, New Mexico State fell at Louisiana Tech 57-50.
Five Broncos recorded double-figure points for Boise State in the solid overall team effort against the very physical Wolf Pack squad. The game was close throughout the night as the two traded baskets and mini runs for most of the contest. The 1,252 fans watched a hard fought contest that saw a combined 42 turnovers and 51 fouls. The teams played through 14 lead changes and eight ties in the game, including 11 leads changes and six ties in the final 20-minutes.
After Boise State claimed an early seven-point, 11-4, lead with 15:35 to play in the opening period, Nevada rallied with a 14-2 run to take a 18-16 advantage with 8:28 remaining until half. The Wolf Pack then maintained a small one to five point lead until the final seconds when Boise State tied the score at 31 on a pair of Jamia Malone free throws with 19 seconds left in the period.
The teams picked up their intensity in the second stanza as Boise State out scored Nevada 51-43 during the period. The Broncos jumped out early with a 17-11 advantage through the first six minutes to take a 48-42 lead. Two minutes later, Nevada took the lead, 49-48, on seven straight points with 12:15 to play.
Down two with 8:52 to go, Boise State regained the lead on Jamia Malone’s third 3-pointer (3-of-4) of the night to put the Broncos up 57-56 with just over eight minutes on the clock. Nevada and Boise State then traded the lead five times over the next three minutes until the Broncos seized control for good with 5:17 left on a Amanda Stewart layup to make the score 66-65.
Jenna Galassi nailed a mid-range jumper 30 seconds later to give the blue and orange a three point, 68-65, advantage. Slowly Boise State pulled away from Nevada taking a 10 point lead with just over a minute to play. The Broncos last field goal of the game came with 3:55 remaining and the score reading 71-65. They finished the contest converting 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch. Galassi led the Broncos in crunch time at the charity stripe hitting all four of her attempts, followed by Stewart going three-for-four, while Lee and Jessica Thompson hit two each.
Both teams struggle a bit in the first period with their shots from the floor as Nevada shot 30 percent compared to Boise State’s 32 percent. They improve considerably in the second half as Boise State made 57.1 percent (16-28) and Nevada improved to 43.8 percent (14-32). On the night, the Broncos made 45.3 percent (24-53) from the floor, 46.2 percent (6-13) from the arc, and 73.7 percent (28-38) from the free-throw line. Nevada finished with 37.1 percent (23-62) shooting from the court, 24 percent (6-25) from 3-point range, and hit 81.5 percent (22-27) of their foul shots. Boise State’s 3-point shooting was impressive considering Nevada entered the game hold WAC opponents to 17.5 percent shooting from the arc in three games.
Jackie Lee led five Broncos in double digit scoring with 20 points to go with a team high eight rebounds, one assists, one block, and five steals in 37 minutes. Jenna Galassi and Tasha Harris each added 13 points and three assists, Harris also had five rebounds, and two steals while Galassi grabbed three boards of her own. Amanda Stewart was solid once again with 12 points and seven rebounds, Jamia Malone match Stewart’s points to round out the top five scorers.
Dellena Criner recorded 33 points, seven rebounds, and three assists to lead Nevada. Johnna Ward and Jennifer Gross each chipped in with 10 points apiece. Gross led the Wolf Pack on the boards with eight followed by Criner’s seven and Bre’Anna Henry’s six.
The win improves Boise State to 11-6 overall and 3-2 in WAC play, they also remain undefeated at home this season at 7-0. Nevada falls to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in league action. Up next for the Broncos, they travel to Hawaii for a Thursday night encounter with the Rainbow Wahine followed by a home game against current WAC leader Fresno State (4-0) on Monday, Jan. 28.
Idaho 70, Utah State 64 (OT)
Box Score
MOSCOW, Idaho ? Freshman Yinka Olorunnife picked up her first career double-double and senior Sara Dennehy hit six clutch free throws in overtime as the Idaho women's basketball team took down Utah State 70-64 on Saturday to get the team's first Western Athletic Conference win of the season.
“We’ve been working hard so much over these past weeks and we finally got paid,” Dennehy, who scored eight of her 13 points during the overtime period, said. “That’s what we’re telling ourselves, so now we’re going to work hard into next week.”
The Vandals (2-15, 1-4 WAC) used strong defense and smart play to hold the Aggie offense to 64 points and 32 percent shooting. The Vandals also did a much better job of limiting fouls and free throws. At the half, the Vandals had committed just five fouls and didn’t send Utah State to the line once. Idaho finished the game with 13-point advantage from the charity stripe.
“One of our goals was to keep them out of the bonus in the first half,” Idaho coach Mike Divilbiss said. “We’re getting more disciplined. You could tell that we were really committed to playing smart tonight.”
Another key aspect in the win was defensive rebounding. Idaho out-rebounded Utah State 52-39 and had 37 defensive rebounds. The Aggies had just seven second-chance points in the game.
Utah State’s two biggest offensive threats, Danyelle Snelgro and Taylor Richards, finished the game shooting just eight-of-32 (.250) combined, while Idaho’s top scorers, Olorunnife and Katie Madison, were a combined 17-of-29 (.586) from the field and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line.
“We played very well defensively, and against a very good team,” Divilbiss said. “I told them in the locker room afterward that they earned that through what they’ve been doing in practice. We’ve been getting better and better and better.
“It’s a process and I think it came into fruition tonight.”
Olorunnife dropped 23 points with 10 boards, two blocks and two steals for her the best game of her young career. Madison fouled out after just 29 minutes of play, but still managed to net 18 points and dish out three assists.
With the team’s top offensive threat stuck on the bench, true freshman Therese Riedel came up with a great effort in relief. She added six points for the Vandals and grabbed 12 boards and, maybe just as importantly, blocked a career-high three shots on layups late in the second half in a tie game.
Another bench player who stepped up big was Carli Bakondy, another freshman who helped maintain the pace of the offense and added two assists, two points and a steal in five minutes.
“I’m really proud of Therese. She’s been patient all year?she just keeps developing and improving,” Divilbiss said. “Carli did a good job of taking care of the ball for us. She’s going to do nothing but keep improving.”
The Vandals controlled the pace of the game early on and led by as many as seven points in the first half. Idaho took a 24-21 lead into the break and, unlike Thursday against Nevada, came out firing in the second. The Vandals took the lead back up to nine points with 13:24 to go on a big-time Alana Curtis three-pointer, but then the Aggies went on a 12-4 run to come within a point at 43-42 with 8:16 to go.
The Vandals answered Utah State’s run with an 8-2 run of their own to extend the lead back out to six points at 50-44 with 6:28 remaining. Things got scary over the final 4:41, as Idaho turned the ball over five times and allowed the Aggies to hang around until Snelgro drove in and drew a foul with five seconds to go. Snelgro sank both of her free throws and sent the game into overtime.
After Utah State took all the momentum into the extra period, Idaho snatched it right back on one key play. The Aggies scored first to take a two-point lead, but Idaho came right back down and tied it up on two Dennehy free throws. The Vandals got a big defensive rebound on a missed layup, then Dennehy hit a big-time basket on an inbound play under the hoop, plus a foul. She gave the Vandals a three-point lead that they would not relinquish.
The Vandals took a season-high 36 free throws in the game and tied a season-high with 22 made free throws. The team’s 52 rebounds are also a season high.
The goal for the Vandals now is to take the momentum from the win and keep it going into next week’s road trips to San Jose State on Thursday and Hawai’i on Saturday.
“We know that if we work hard, we’re going to be successful and we’re just going to keep growing,” Divilbiss said. “Life in the WAC is really tough on the road, but we don’t care. We’re just having fun and playing hard.”
Louisiana Tech 57, New Mexico State 50
Box Score
RUSTON - Louisiana Tech overcame a double digit first half deficit to defeat New Mexico State 57-50 Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center, handing the Aggies their first Western Athletic Conference loss of the season.
Tech (8-9, 2-2 WAC) recorded its best defensive effort of the season in limiting New Mexico State (13-4, 3-1 WAC) to only 30 percent shooting, including only 24 percent in a second half that saw the Lady Techsters outscore the Aggies 34-21.
"I thought we did a really good job defensively," Long said. "We worked all week on being a more physical team; on being a more aggressive team. I thought tonight we reaped the benefits of that in a number of areas."
After opening an early 12-8 lead over New Mexico State on a jumper by freshman Adrienne Johnson at the 11:37 mark, Louisiana Tech went cold offensively as the Aggies used a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to grab a 23-14 lead with just under eight minutes to play.
During that stretch, Tech - which won despite hitting only 29 percent (16-55) of its field goals - hit only 1-of-6 field goals while the Aggies heated up hitting 6-of-8 field goals, including a pair of three-pointers.
"There were a couple of times tonight when we played really good defense and they still hit tough shots," Long said. "They showed why they have won 13 games this year. That is a very good basketball team we just beat."
New Mexico State led 28-18 on a free throw by Monique Bribiescas with 2:33 to play in the half before the Lady Techsters used a 5-1 run to close the half and trailed only 29-23.
Tech opened the second half by scoring the first six points to tie the game at 29-29. However, New Mexico State would not go away quietly as the Aggies behind the play of senior forward Sherell Neal grabbed a 43-36 lead on a jumper by Tyshae Walton with 11:34 to play.
The Lady Techsters then held NMSU scoreless for more than five minutes and used an 11-0 run to claim a 47-43 lead on a pair of free throws by Shanavia Dowdell with 6:57 to play.
Tech led 49-47 with 3:12 to play after a Neal layup. With the shot clock running down, senior guard Nastassja Levingston sank a long three-pointer with 2:37 to play to give the Lady Techsters a 52-47 lead.
"That was a huge shot," Long said. "Tub came up big for us there. I thought the difference was we were able to attack the basket with our post players and got to the free throw line. And when we got there, we made them."
Tech hit 24-of-31 free throws including 17-of-19 in the final half.
Neal scored three straight points to pull the Aggies within 52-50 before Tech hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 35 seconds of the game.
Sneed tied her career-high with 20 points while adding 11 rebounds for her 12th double double of the season while Dowdell added 15 points and 14 rebounds. Tarkeisha Wysinger chipped in with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Neal led the Aggies with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Tech outrebounded New Mexico State 49-37, including 28-15 in the final 20 minutes of play.
Hawai?i 70, San Jose State 54
Box Score
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team played the best second half in four games, leading to a 70-54 victory over San Jose State at the Event Center in San Jose, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine were tied with the Spartans at halftime, then went on a 21-7 run to open up its largest lead of the game at 53-39 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
UH would never look back after that run, leading to its first victory in four games. UH outscored San Jose State 38-22 in the second frame. The Rainbow Wahine improve to 7-10 overall and picked up their first WAC victory and are now 1-3. San Jose State fell to 1-15 overall and 0-3 in WAC play.
Megan Tinnin helped spark UH in the second half, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Rainbow Wahine defense was also stingy in the second half, as San Jose State shot 23.1 percent from the field to start the half.
Offensively the Rainbow Wahine had a balanced attack. Tinnin finished with a career-high 18 points in her first start of the year. Tinnin went 6 for 18 from the field, including making three 3-pointers.
The UH balanced offensive attack also saw Dita Liepkalne score 12 points and grab eight rebounds. Tanya Smith added 11 points and eight rebounds, just missing her eighth straight double-double. Saundra Cariaga and Iwona Zagrobelna each chipped in with eight points.
The Rainbow Wahine shot the ball well from the field Saturday night, showing why their the WAC leaders. UH shot 45.9 percent from the field, going 28 for 61 from the floor. UH also outrebounded San Jose State 45-23.
In the opening half, the Rainbow Wahine closed on an 11-7 run to tie the game 32-32. UH struggled at times offensively, but stayed in the game with a late push.
Offensively UH gained momentum by going inside. Tanya Smith had 10 points and six rebounds and Iwona Zagrobelna had eight points and three rebounds. As a team the Rainbow Wahine shot 46.9 percent from the field. But UH struggled keeping possession of the ball, turning the ball over 16 times.
Coming off the bench late in the first half was Tara Hittle, making her first appearance in a UH basketball uniform. Hittle is coming off her junior year of volleyball and suited up for the UH women's basketball team for the second straight game. Hittle grabbed one rebound in one minute of action.
The Rainbow Wahine return to the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday, January 24 when they host Boise State at 7 p.m. Thursday's game will be UH's first home WAC game and the Rainbow Wahine will host Idaho on Saturday, January 26 at 7 p.m.