Moreira, Vandals ready to up the tempo in ’24

If fans who watched a Vandal women’s basketball game last season turn on the ESPN+ stream when Idaho opens the 2024-25 season at 6 p.m. today at Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, they might not recognize many players on the court.

The 2024-25 Idaho team has a fresh new look with a new head coach and only two returning players, but that does not mean Idaho is lacking in college experience.

The lone returning players for the Vandals are senior guard Ashlyn Wallace of Clarkston and junior forward Sarah Brans.

Wallace appeared in every game for Idaho last season and showed off her range with a team-high 42 3-pointers. The 5-foot-6 senior will play her fourth year with the program.

Brans took over a starting role in the middle of last season and started in 17 games. The forward averaged 6.5 points per game and played over 22 minutes per game.

Arthur Moreira takes over the head coaching position after previous coach Carrie Eighmey left just one year and one day after signing with Idaho to take the head coaching job at the University of South Dakota. UI and Eighmey agreed to a five-year contract with a salary of over $120,000, but the contract was never signed by Eighmey and the former coach was able to make an early exit without having to pay the $500,000 buyout in the contract that was approved by the Idaho State Board of Education back in October 2023.

“Super excited for the season. We have been working really hard since late July, nonstop throughout the summer. We have a really special group this year,” Moreira said. “I have never been around a women’s team that works this hard. They put a lot of hours outside of practice; they compete every single day.”

Moreira was the head recruiter for the Vandals and was a key contributor in bringing in new talent to Moscow. Maybe none bigger than Oklahoma transfer guard Kelbie Washington.

Washington was named to the All-Big 12 freshman team in the 2021-22 season before she took a medical redshirt last year. The Norman, Okla., native was ranked as the No. 10 guard in the 2021 high school class by ESPN.

She led the Sooners with 116 assists, fourth-most for a freshman in Oklahoma history, and averaged 6.7 points per game.

Graduate students Olivia Nelson, Jennifer Aadland and Rosie Schweizer are new to the Vandals, but not new to the college game. All three have played at least 90 games in their collegiate careers.

Nelson played and started in all 117 games with Central Missouri in her four-year stint. The 5-foot-6 guard had 14.7 points per game and reached double-figures in 22 games.

Aadland averaged 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds a game as a senior for Augustana University.

Schweizer played four years at Pacific as a forward and was strong inside. The 6-foot-1 Canberra, Australia, native was second on the team with 37 offensive rebounds in the 2023-24 season.

“We are going to be pretty deep, I can guarantee you that,” Moreira said. “We are going to play a lot more people than we did last year.”

Moreira has brought an international feel to the roster as well, led by Schweizer. Senior center Vitória Carvalho and freshman guard Ana Beatriz Passos are from Brazil. Junior guard Anja Bukvic is from Belgrade, Serbia. Freshman guard Ana Pinheiro joins Idaho from Portugal.

“I have a lot of that influence from the international game. Against LC we scored 80 points and we had six players in double figures. We have to share the ball. ... That’s the brand of basketball we are going to play,” Moreira said. “On defense, we are going to get after it, we are going to pressure you and make you turn it over. We are going to try and speed you up so we can get the ball back and attack even more.”

In the 2023-24 season, Idaho averaged 59.8 points per game and took an average of just under 55 shots per game. The Vandals made just 39.4% of those shots. Moreira hopes to push the pace and attempt to take advantage of easy baskets in transition.

“We have to be in pretty good shape to play at the pace we want to play at. I think that is the reason we are going to be pretty deep too,” Moreira said. “We are going to need a lot of bodies to sustain that pace throughout the season.”

Idaho will start the season with five of its first six games on the road. The Vandals open the season today at Brigham Young before the Battle of the Palouse on Sunday at Washington State.

The first official home game is on Nov. 13 against NAIA-opponent Walla Walla.

The Vandals will host four consecutive teams at the ICCU Arena starting with Montana Tech on Nov. 27. St. Thomas (Dec. 7), Utah State (Dec. 15) and UC Davis (Dec.18) will also visit Moscow.

Big Sky action will begin for Idaho on the road at Montana State on Jan. 2.

“We are ready to roll,” Moreira said. “Ready for BYU and ready for Washington State following that.”

Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.