MOSCOW, ID – The University of Idaho Vandal women’s basketball team hosted Saint Martin’s University this afternoon in front of thousands of elementary school children from the local area. The Vandals defeated the Saints 63-44 in their last game before they start conference play. Johnson led the Vandals with 20 points.
BOX SCORE
From U of I:
Johnson scored a career-high 20 points shooting 7-11 from the field and 4-5 from three. Sarah Schmitt had a career day on the boards grabbing 12. Wallace was the second-highest scorer for Idaho with eight points. The team improved to 5-5 on the season.
The first quarter saw a slow start for the Vandals as they only put up nine points. Despite the struggle to find some rhythm offensively, Idaho shutout Saint Martin’s in the first seven minutes. Three Vandals had three points apiece with Hope Butera, Amalie Langer and Sarah Brans. Schmitt led with four rebounds.
The second quarter proved to be more fruitful for the Vandals as they doubled their points in just three minutes, extending the lead to 18-7. They continued with a 14-0 run while holding the Saints scoreless for another seven minutes. The Saints climbed back a bit, going on a 7-0 run.
The first half did not prove to be very efficient for the Vandals as they shot a season-low of 29.6% (8-27) from the field, 33.3% (3-9) from three, and 80% (4-5) from the line. Idaho’s defense limited the Saints to 18.8% (6-32) from the field and 16.7% (1-6) from three. Seven Vandals had two or more points on the half led by Butera and Johnson with five each. Schmitt continued to dominate the boards, grabbing seven on the half.
After halftime, the Vandals came out with a new fire, shooting significantly better from the field and almost doubled the score. Johnson had herself a quarter, scoring eight points going 3-5 from the field. Idaho held the Saints scoreless once again for the first four minutes of the quarter on an 11-0 run. Idaho shot 42.1% (8-19) from the field, 33.3% (2-6) from three and 3-3 from the charity stripe.
The final quarter saw the Saints score their fastest points in a quarter with a fast break only 30 seconds in. Johnson went back to back with a shot from three and a jumper to break her previous career record of 18 points. The Vandals continued to shutout the Saints and went on their fourth double-digit run, 10-0 in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Idaho finished the game shooting 41.4% (24-58) from the field, 40% (8-20) from three and 87.5% (7-8) from the free throw line. Saint Martin’s finished the game shooting 27.9% (17-61) from the field, 26.7% (4-15) from three and 60% (6-10) from the line. Idaho shot 40% from three for their second consecutive game.
The Vandals will start Big Sky Conference play on the road at Sacramento State and Portland State on December 28th and 30th.
