Idaho Women Can’t Hold On, Lose 73-63 To Rival Boise St.

It was there - for about 1 minute in the second half - but the University of Idaho women’s basketball team couldn’t hold onto its late lead and lost 73-63 to Boise State on Saturday night.

It was, however, more than just a regular-season-ending loss against the Vandals’ biggest rival. It all came down to a first-ever conference title for one of these schools and jockeying for position for the Big West Conference tournament in Reno, Nev.

The Broncos won the jackpot on both accounts, winning the Big West Eastern Division with an 11-3 record (17-10 overall) and a date against Western Division fourth-seeded Pacific in the first round on Wednesday.

Idaho, which had an identical 14-14 overall record from one year ago and 9-5 in conference games, finished third in its division. It will play West No. 2 seed UC Irvine, which it beat 71-61 at Memorial Gym earlier this season.

“Hey, we’ll just have to play everybody in the tournament,” said Idaho coach Julie Holt, whose team made it to the semifinal round of the conference tournament last year before losing to NCAA Tournament representative UC Santa Barbara.

Saturday’s Senior Night home season finale - played before the largest crowd of the season at 1,535 - went back and forth most of the second half before Boise State pulled away in the final 2 minutes.

BSU’s Tawnya Gray hit a clutch 3-pointer and Kim Brydges followed with a bucket inside to give the Broncos a 66-61 lead.

Boise’s Heidi Umthun of Post Falls put to rest any doubt when she was 4 of 4 from the foul line the last 20.4 seconds. Umthun was 10 of 10 from the line and matched a team-high 14 points. It was also her season high.

The Vandals took their only lead in the second half, 61-60, when senior guard Kelli Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining. It gave Johnson 11 points in a span of 4 minutes. She finished with 19.

Alli Nieman, who led the Vandals with 21 points, also did some of her scoring in streaky style. The sophomore center scored eight points in 1:35 to give UI a 12-7 lead.

However, Nieman picked up her second foul with 6:41 left in the first half and watched from the bench as the Broncos put together a 10-0 run and evened the game at 27 heading into halftime.

The second half whistles on Idaho were no better. By the time the Vandals hit the stretch drive, starters Nieman, Johnson, Kathryn Gussett and Susan Woolf were playing with four fouls. Holt picked up a technical when she got a bit too emotional with 12:55 left in the second half and her team trailing 41-35.

Throughout the second half, the fourth-year coach had to shuffle her lineup to save her starters for the finish. Gussett, who had 11 rebounds in the first half and ended with a team-high 12, had to sit for 6 minutes in the second half. Idaho had 22 personal fouls to BSU’s 19.

Gussett gave the Vandals their first tie of the second half at 46 when she scored on a putback.

“It changes the tempo of the game. Other teams can step up and be physical and aggressive where you can’t. It changes your effectiveness,” Holt said of her players’ foul situation.

Boise State 73, Idaho 63

Boise State (17-9, 11-3) - Sumlin 4-6 0-0 10, Brydges 4-7 2-2 10, Block 6-16 2-4 14, Gray 2-4 3-4 7, Lewis 2-9 4-6 9, Fortenberry 2-5 1-5 5, Umthun 2-8 10-10 14, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Durieux 1-4 0-0 2, Hodges 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 24-63 22-31 73.

Idaho (14-14, 9-5) - Gussett 4-7 2-5 10, Nieman 9-16 1-2 21, Stone 2-8 2-4 6, Johnson 7-15 4-4 19, Woolf 2-8 2-2 7, Newman 0-0 0-0 0, McDaniel 0-2 0-0 0, Purcell 0-0 0-0 0, Bloom 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 11-17 63.

Halftime - Boise State 27, Idaho 27. 3-Point goals - Boise State 3-8 (Sumlin 2-3, Lewis 1-4, Durieux 0-1), Idaho 4-9 (Nieman 2-3, Johnson 1-2, Woolf 1-4). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Boise State 46 (Brydges 8), Idaho 37 (Gussett 12). Assists - Boise State 13 (Lewis 5), Idaho 17 (Woolf 5). Total fouls - Boise State 19, Idaho 22. Technicals - Idaho bench. A - 1,535. , DataTimes