COLLEGE HOOPS NOTES: Idaho readies up to host rival EWU in doubleheader

First-year coaches David Riley and Arthur Moreira have the Cougar men and Vandal women off to strong basketball starts, the Lewis-Clark State men’s and women’s programs are nationally ranked and each local college hoops squad has seen younger players and newcomers step into larger roles.

With all six area college basketball programs well into conference play, the Tribune takes a look at how each has fared up to this point and previews the Vandals’ doubleheader against Big Sky rival Eastern Washington.

Idaho women (11-4, 3-1)

The success of the Vandal women’s team has been among the biggest surprises, not just in the Big Sky Conference, but perhaps the nation.

One year removed from a 15-16 finish, Moreira has the Vandals off to an 11-4 start. Idaho has nine transfers and three freshmen and just two returners in Sarah Brans and Clarkston’s Ashlyn Wallace. Despite so many new faces, the team’s vast college basketball experience has allowed the players to gel, especially behind a pair of graduate transfer leading scorers.

Hope Hassmann (12.5 points per game) and Olivia Nelson (11.3) lead the Vandals in scoring. Hassmann posted 16 points in the Vandals’ 63-48 win over Sacramento State on Jan. 9 and Nelson scored 19 in Idaho’s 60-56 victory over Portland State on Saturday.

After an 0-2 start against a pair of Cougars from BYU and Washington State, the Vandals are 11-2 since Nov. 13.

They host Eastern Washington at 1 p.m. Saturday before the Vandal men play the Eagles at 4 p.m.

“It just gives us a good atmosphere,” Moreira said of the doubleheader. “(UI men’s) coach (Alex) Pribble and his program have done a great job of bringing people into the gym. I was watching the broadcast of the Montana games here and it looked like it was fun. It looked like there were a lot of people here.”

Moreira said EWU is one of the best shooting teams in the Big Sky and he will look for his team to keep them off the line and stay clean and disciplined guarding the Eagles at the rim.

The Vandals are ranked No. 118 in the NCAA NET rankings. That’s three spots higher than Gonzaga and 26 spots ahead of Washington State (No. 141).

Up next: Idaho vs. EWU (6-10, 2-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Idaho men (7-10, 2-2 Big Sky)

The Vandal men have been hampered by several injuries that have held the team back from its true potential, namely the absence of senior forward Julius Mims.

Pribble said that his team sorely missed Mims’ defensive ability that won him all-conference honors last season and in the preseason.

“It starts with getting healthy,” Pribble said. “Let’s find a way to get Julius Mims back out there.”

The timeline for Mims’ return to the court remains to be determined.

The Vandals knocked off Montana State 69-64 on Jan. 2 and have so far come up short against the best of the Big Sky, dropping a close one to Montana, 73-71 on Jan. 4, and losing 75-63 to Portland State on Saturday.

The Vandals host EWU with a chance to separate themselves in the middle of the conference.

Up next: Idaho vs. EWU (6-11, 2-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Washington State men (13-5, 3-2 WCC)

In Riley’s first year at the helm, the Cougar men have weathered a wave of injuries to key players to start the year 13-5. Eastern Washington transfer Cedric Coward suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and reserves the ability to return to WSU next year. Role players Marcus Wilson and Rihards Vavers also suffered season-ending injuries.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Watts is out for the foreseeable future with an injury on his non-shooting hand.

With key players sidelined, the Cougs started 4-0 in conference play with a 23-1 run at home to beat San Francisco on Jan. 4 for a share of first place but hit a roadblock when they lost 95-94 in overtime to Pacific on Jan. 9, a team that walked into Pullman with a 4-13 record.

The Quad 4 loss has tanked the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament chances, likely narrowing a berth to an outright bid by way of winning the WCC tournament in March in Las Vegas.

Nate Calmese scored 20 points in the Cougars’ Saturday loss to then-No. 18 Gonzaga. The Cougs held a six-point lead in the first half before the Zags took control to cruise to the 88-75 win.

Up next: WSU at San Diego (4-14, 1-4) at 7 p.m. today.

Washington State women (10-8, 5-2)

The WSU women emerged from a tough nonconference schedule that included games at Stanford and Iowa with a 5-6 record.

Their start to West Coast Conference play has revealed what will be a tight race for the top. With a 5-2 league record, the Cougs are in a five-way tie for first place.

However, life without WSU’s four-year standout Charlisse Leger-Walker has not been smooth sailing. WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said that Gonzaga, which beat WSU 69-61 on Saturday in Pullman, was more savage than the Cougs, outrebounding WSU 45-22.

Senior Tara Wallack and juniors Astera Tuhina and Kyra Gardner are the only upperclassmen getting significant playing time as sophomore Eleonora Villa and an army of underclassmen, including six newcomers, adjust to playing together.

Typical of Ethridge-led WSU teams, the 13 players on the roster represent 10 different countries.

Up next: WSU at San Francisco (8-8, 5-2) at 6 p.m. today.

No. 21 Lewis-Clark State men (13-3, 8-2)

The Warriors suffered their third loss of the season to Bushnell (Ore.) 89-78 on Friday and beat Corban (Ore.) 82-55 on Saturday.

Alton Hamilton is second in the Cascade Conference in scoring (17.7) and lead the conference in rebounding (9.3).

On Friday, the Warriors led by six with 12:53 to go before Bushnell flipped the score with an 11-4 run and a strong finish to win by nine.

John Lustig scored 21 points in the contest and Hamilton scored 19. The duo led LC State to victory the following day as Hamilton posted 20 points and Lustig turned in 15.

The Warriors are a young group that has stayed near the top of the CCC standings, sitting in third place entering the weekend.

LC State has run its offense through the paint with Hamilton as a focal point but has not been afraid to shoot it deep either with 6.6 3-pointers per game.

Up next: LC State at Southern Oregon (9-6, 4-5) at 2 p.m. Friday.

No. 19 Lewis-Clark State women (14-2, 8-2)

The Warrior women sit in third place in the Cascade Conference. They lost two straight games to enter the holiday break in December, but have been perfect since.

LC State defeated both recent Cascade Conference opponents with ease, earning a 21-point win on Friday over Bushnell (Ore.) and a 46-point win over Corban (Ore.) on Saturday.

The Warriors’ 94-48 Saturday win was fueled by Sitara Byrd’s 26 points, Ellie Sander’s 21 and Darian Herring’s 16. The trio were responsible for 13 of the Warriors’ 18 steals.

Byrd earned Cascade Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors and Herring was named the Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Week

Up next: LC State at Southern Oregon (15-0, 9-0) at noon Friday.

Players to watch

Darian Herring (LC State wbb): Herring earned her third weekly honor of the season after a historic weekend.

The sophomore from Deer Park, Wash., recorded the first triple-double in LC State women’s or men’s basketball history on Saturday with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Her rebound and assists totals were career highs.

Herring made a career-high eight blocks on Friday to tie the LC State single-game record. She surpassed 100 blocks in just two years of college basketball on Saturday.

Jack Payne (Idaho mbb): To beat the Eagles with a shorthanded lineup, the Vandals will need to turn to Boise native Jack Payne to continue his hot streak. Payne posted a career-high 23 points at Sacramento State on Jan. 9.

He is averaging 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.