For Idaho, home is where the W is
Vandals almost let 23-point lead slip away, but behind Bea’s 33-point outburst, hold off Denver
MOSCOW — The Idaho women’s basketball team certainly was amped up to play its first home game of the season. Maybe a little too amped up.
The Vandals raced out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter, and held a 24-point advantage late in the second quarter of Thursday’s nonconference game against Denver. But the Pioneers did not go away quietly.
Denver erased almost all of its deficit, but Idaho settled down late in the third quarter and eventually pulled away with a 91-83 victory at Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.
Senior guard Beyonce Bea finished with a game-high 33 points, just one off her season best, adding five rebounds for the Vandals (3-6), who finished 32-for-67 (47.8%) from the field. Junior guard Sydney Gandy tallied 15 points and five assists before fouling out. Senior guard Tiana Johnson chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
Jojo Jones finished with 22 points and five assists before fouling out for the Pioneers (4-7), who were 25-for-58 (43.1%) shooting for the game. Ally Haar tallied 18 points. Makalya Minnett contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mikayla Brandon finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots before she also fouled out.
Midway through the first quarter, Idaho flexed its muscles by going on a 14-0 run in a 4:12 span, with the wealth spread out, in taking a 21-6 advantage. By the end of the period, the Vandals, thanks to a 10-for-19 (52.6%) effort from the field, were up 27-7.
With 2:29 left, Johnson canned a 3-pointer as Idaho built its lead to 43-19. The Vandals went into the locker room up 47-27.
However, Denver almost literally couldn’t miss a shot in the third quarter as it got itself back into the game. In the first nine minutes of action, the Pioneers had cut their deficit to just a single point, at 60-59, with 58 seconds to go on a 3 by Jones. The Vandals scored the final five points of the period to lead 65-59 going to the fourth.
In the third, Denver went 9-for-11 (81.8%) from the field, including 7-of-8 (87.5%) from 3-point range, to climb back into it.
However, the early deficit was just too much for the Pioneers to climb back from. Denver got as close as five points in the fourth quarter.
Idaho held advantages in points off turnovers (19-6), bench points (20-11) and points in the paint (38-28).
The Vandals next play at 1 p.m. Sunday at Grand Canyon.
DENVER (4-7)
J. Jones 6-11 6-9 22, Haar 4-10 7-8 18, Minett 8-12 0-0 16, Brandon 4-7 1-2 12, Smith 0-5 4-6 4, Robles 1-4 1-1 3, Wilson 1-2 0-0 3, Forney 1-1 0-0 2, Counsel 0-0 2-2 2, Malonga 0-2 1-2 1, Atkins 0-2 0-0 0, M. Jones 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 22-30 83.
IDAHO (3-6)
B. Bea 12-20 9-11 33, Gandy 6-14 1-2 15, Johnson 4-8 2-2 13, Smith 3-6 2-3 8, Phillips 0-2 2-2 2, Wallace 2-6 1-2 6, Brans 2-4 0-0 6, J. Bea 1-1 0-0 3, Malone 1-3 0-0 3, Allred 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 32-67 17-22 91.
Denver 7 20 32 24—83
Idaho 27 20 18 26—91
3-point goals — Denver 11-26 (J. Jones 4-6, Brandon 3-6, Haar 3-7, Wilson 1-2, Smith 0-1, Malonga 0-1, Atkins 0-1, Robles 0-2), Idaho 10-28 (Johnson 3-6, Brans 2-4, Gandy 2-8, J. Bea 1-1, Malone 1-2, Wallace 1-3, B. Bea 0-1, Smith 0-3). Fouled out — J. Jones, Brandon, Gandy. Rebounds — Denver 42 (Brandon 12), Idaho 34 (Johnson 7). Assists — Denver 13 (J. Jones 5), Idaho 18 (Gandy, Wallace 5). Total fouls — Denvere 18, Idaho 22. Technical — J. Jones. A — 923.
