MOSCOW — After spending the past 33 days playing seven road games, the Idaho women’s basketball team returned to the friendly confines of home Saturday and gave the fans a solid performance.
Lizzy Klinker and Beyonce Bea each tallied 15 points as the Vandals beat Hawaii in the final nonconference game of the season, 67-52, at the Cowan Spectrum.
“It was strange to be home, but once we settled in, I thought it was great,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “For the first game at home in a long stretch, I thought we executed really well.”
On that road trip, which started in San Francisco and went to southern California before wrapping up in Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 15, the Vandals went 3-3. All three of the victories came against teams that currently are .500 or above on the season.
Idaho (5-4) never trailed in the game, taking a 20-14 lead after the first quarter. The Vandals opened the second on an 8-0 run capped by a jumper from Bea with 8:02 remaining, to lead the Rainbow Wahinee 27-14. A layup by Klinker near the midpoint of the period gave Idaho a 37-21 lead, the Vandals’ largest. Klinker had 11 at the break, and Idaho’s lead was 43-31.
“(Lizzy Klinker) just showed the way,” Newlee said. “Those younger kids that we play a lot are going to have to take notice of that and understand it’s going to take that kind of effort in Big Sky play.”
Hawaii (6-6) got it down to 52-44 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Vandals went up by 15 in the final period and cruised from there.
The Vandals limited themselves to seven turnovers and had 16 assists, led by Allison Kirby with seven in just 12 minutes of play.
Idaho next will play Idaho State at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.
HAWAII (6-6)
Atwell 3-7 2-2 9, Tago 3-10 1-1 8, Neubert 2-6 0-0 5, Alexander 1-5 0-0 2, Calhoun 0-6 0-0 0, Rewers 3-4 2-2 8, Joseph 3-8 2-2 8, Reier 2-6 0-0 6, Mddap 2-5 2-2 6, Rangel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 9-9 52.
IDAHO (5-4)
L. Klinker 7-12 0-0 15, Bea 7-17 0-0 15, Marxen 3-8 0-0 8, King 1-5 0-0 3, N. Klinker 0-0 0-0 0, Hadden 3-6 2-2 8, Christopher 2-6 1-1 6, Carlson 2-3 2-2 6, Jones 2-7 0-0 6, Kirby 0-0 0-0 0, Pulliam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 5-5 67.
Hawaii 14 17 13 8—52
Idaho 20 23 9 15—67
3-point goals — Hawaii 5-18 (Atwell 1-2, Tago 1-4, Neubert 1-2, Alexander 0-1, Calhoun 0-3, Reier 2-3, Middap 0-3), Idaho 8-28 (Klinker 1-2, Bea 1-6, Marxen 2-6, King 1-5, Christeopher 1-3, Jones 2-5). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Hawaii 31 (Atwell, Calhoun 6), Idaho 36 (L. Klinker, Christopher 9). Assists — Hawaii 11 (Calhoun 5), Idaho 16 (Kirby 7). Total fouls — Hawaii 11, Idaho 11. A — 926.
Miami 74, Washington State 68
MIAMI — The Cougars’ rally fell just short as the Hurricanes won at the Miami Holiday Classic at the Watsco Center.
Trailing by seven points with just 49 seconds left, Washington State (7-5) was able to pull within a single basket after a Jovana Subasic 3-pointer made it 71-68 with 18 seconds remaining.
Miami (8-3) went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line on the ensuing possession to keep the Cougars’ hopes alive, but the WSU rally lost steam after missing a 3 in the corner with eight seconds remaining.
Senior Chanelle Molina paced the Cougars with 17 points and 13 rebounds to post her first double-double of the season. The 5-foot-9 senior achieved the feat after just two quarters of play by tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds to put Washington State up 35-32 at halftime.
“I thought we really competed hard,” Washington State coach Kamie Ethridge said. “It hurts when you play hard, have chances and you don’t finish.
“We had to fight through fatigue with some of our players. We’re trying to stretch our starters a lot, and just had some bad possessions.”
The Cougars next will play Washington in the Pac-12 opener at 2 p.m. Dec. 29 at Beasley Coliseum.
WASHINGTON STATE (7-5)
Cha. Molina 7-15 2-2 17, Hristova 7-21 0-0 16, Motuga 4-6 1-1 11, Murekatete 0-4 0-0 0, Levy 0-1 0-0 0, Subasic 6-9 0-0 13, Muzet 3-6 1-2 9, Nankervis 1-1 0-2 2, She. Molina 0-1 0-0 0 Ce. Molina 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 4-7 68.
MIAMI (8-3)
Marshall 6-14 2-2 18, Gray 4-10 7-9 15, Mompremier 6-17 3-5 15, Banks 6-9 2-2 14, Huston 3-6 2-5 8, Johnson 1-2 2-2 4, Mason 0-3 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Salgues 0-0 0-0 0, Roby 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 18-25 74.
Washington State 19 16 15 18—68
Miami 20 12 22 20—74
3-point goals — Washington State 8-20 (Motuga 2-2, Hristova 2-5, Muzet 2-5, Subasic 1-2, Cha. Molina 1-6), Miami 4-12 (Marshall 4-8, Gray 0-1, Mompremier 0-1, Banks 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Washington State 31 (Cha. Molina 13), Miami 43 (Mompremier 19). Assists — Washington State 14 (Murekatete 4), Miami 8 (Marshall, Gray, Mason 2). Total fouls — Washington State 14, Miami 10. A — 782.
MENSouth Dakota State 85, Idaho 57
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Douglas Wilson scored 18 points and Matt Dentlinger notched a double-double to propel the Jackrabbits to their eighth consecutive home victory, beating the Vandals at Frost Arena.
Wilson knocked down 8 of 13 shots from the floor for South Dakota State (9-6). Dentlinger finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Alex Arians pitched in with 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals. David Wingett had 12 points and seven rebounds.
South Dakota State posted a season-high 20 assists.
Trevon Allen tied a career high with 29 points and had six rebounds for Idaho (4-7). Damen Thacker added 10 points and three assists off the bench.
“Allen did a nice job in the first half running off screens and creating space,” Vandals coach Zac Claus said. “When he’s on balance and in rhythm, there’s nobody better.
“(But) we couldn’t find a second option today. We couldn’t get a rhythm going.”
The Vandals next will play at Idaho State at 6 p.m. Saturday.
IDAHO (4-7)
Allen 11-21 5-7 29, Dixon 2-10 0-0 5, Forrest 0-4 0-2 0, Thacker 3-6 2-5 10, J.Wilson 1-5 0-0 2, Blakney 4-4 0-2 8, Quinnett 1-3 0-0 3, Garvin 0-2 0-0 0, Thiombane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 7-16 57.
S. DAKOTA ST. (9-6)
Arians 6-8 2-2 15, Wingett 4-12 1-3 12, D.Wilson 8-13 2-5 18, Dentlinger 4-9 4-7 12, Key 2-4 0-0 6, Freidel 1-1 2-2 5, Scheierman 3-7 0-2 7, King 1-2 0-0 3, Dillon 1-4 1-2 4, Mims 0-3 0-0 0, Brown 1-1 0-0 3, Fiegen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 12-23 85.
Halftime — S. Dakota St., 43-31. 3-point goals — Idaho 6-19 (Thacker 2-5, Allen 2-6, Dixon 1-3, Quinnett 1-3, Forrest 0-1, Garvin 0-1), S. Dakota St. 11-24 (Wingett 3-8, Key 2-3, Brown 1-1, Freidel 1-1, Arians 1-2, Dillon 1-2, King 1-2, Scheierman 1-3, Mims 0-2). Fouled out — Garvin. Rebounds — Idaho 30 (Forrest 8), S. Dakota St. 41 (Dentlinger 10). Assists — Idaho 11 (Thacker 3), S. Dakota St. 20 (Key 5). Total fouls — Idaho 22, S. Dakota St. 18. A — 1,507.