Barr’s hot hand sparks Vandals

Stacey Barr poured in 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds and the Idaho Vandals (2-2) rolled to a 77-66 nonconference victory over the Wyoming Cowgirls (2-1) on Tuesday in Laramie, Wyoming.

Christina Salvatore finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Brooke Reilly scored 19 for Idaho – the defending champions in the Western Athletic Conference, but now a member of the Big Sky Conference.

Wyoming had outscored its opponents 186-70 in winning its first two games.

“Mental toughness. No excuses,” said Vandals coach Jon Newlee of the team’s trip to the much-emphasized 7,000-foot elevation in Laramie. “I’m really proud of my team.”

Idaho had a 47-40 advantage on the boards.

Washington State 74, Hampton 60: Senior Tia Presley buried 12 of 20 shots from the floor and finished with a game-high 36 points to propel the Cougars (4-1) to a nonconference win over the Hampton Pirates (0-4) in Hampton, Virginia.

Presley connected on 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range and hit 9 of 10 free throws to finish one point off of her career high. It was the third highest scoring effort in the program’s history. Presley also had five assists and four steals.

Louise Brown scored 13 and snagged a team-high nine rebounds for WSU.

North Idaho 81, Columbia Basin 74: Kara Staggs tossed in a game-high 20 points to lead four players in double figures and added four assists to lead the Cardinals (4-1) to a nonconference win over the visiting Hawks (1-1).

Mariah Swanson added a double-double – 17 points, 10 rebounds – for NIC, while Panisesi Taimani and reserve Caitlyn Behymer scored 15 and 12, respectively.

Volleyball

Junior Savannah Blinn smacked 25 kills and Lauren Joseph chipped in with 41 assists and 11 digs to power the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22 victory over the visiting Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference regular-season finale.

McKayla Ferris notched 12 kills and 11 digs for the Bulldogs. Teammate Morgan Douglass totaled 15 digs.

Gonzaga finished with a 17-12 record overall, which ties (2007) for the most in a season since 1990. The Bulldogs’ eight WCC wins is the highest total since 1994.