MOSCOW, Idaho - The
Idaho women's basketball team will wrap up its five-game road stretch as
it opens Western Athletic Conference play at Nevada on Jan. 6. The game
will tip off at 8:05 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Nevada enters the
game with a WAC-best 11-2 mark, and has won five straight games heading
into the contest. Idaho, entering WAC play at 7-5 on the season, swept
the season series against Nevada last year, and owns a 16-13 advantage
in the all-time series. This year marks the first time the Vandals have
entered conference play with a winning record since the 2004-05 season,
when Idaho competed in the Big West Conference.
Nevada is led by
Tahnee Robinson, who leads the WAC in scoring with 22.7 points per game.
Robinson missed Nevada's last two games for personal reasons, but is
expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. Nevada's Shavon Moore
ranks third in the league in scoring with 16.5 points per game, and
Kayla Williams is the WAC's third leading rebounder, with 9.2 boards per
game.
Something will have
to give when it comes to field goals, as the Wolf Pack lead the
conference in field goal percentage, at 44.6 percent, while the Vandals
lead the WAC in field goad defense, allowing opponents to shoot just
37.1 percent on the season.
The Vandals are led
by a trio of experienced seniors, Yinka Olorunnife, Rachele Kloke and
Derisa Taleni. Olorunnife leads the team in both scoring and rebounding
with 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and has collected six
double-doubles through Idaho's first 12 games.
Kloke is averaging
12.9 points per game and is fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage,
hitting 50.4 percent of her shots. She has scored in double figures in
five straight games for the Vandals, and is averaging 18.4 points per
game in that span.
Taleni has gotten
the job done in nearly every facet of the game this season, averaging
9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. She also leads the
Vandals - the WAC's top free throw shooting team - with a 78.0 free
throw percentage.
Idaho will also be
aided by Bianca Cheever, who scored six points in 18 minutes at Portland
on Dec. 30 in her first action since suffering a calf injury on Nov.
20. Cheever is averaging 7.8 points per game and is shooting 45.0
percent from 3-point distance.