Vandals Can’t Hold On, Fall To Rival Boise St. 73-63

College women

The University of Idaho women couldn’t hold onto a late lead and lost 73-63 to Boise State in Big West Conference basketball Saturday night in Moscow, Idaho.

The win earned the Broncos the Big West Eastern Division title with an 11-3 record (17-10 overall) and a date against Western Division fourth-seed Pacific in the first round of the conference tournament Wednesday in Reno, Nev.

Idaho, which had an identical 14-14 overall record from one year ago and 9-5 in conference games, finished third. It will play West No. 2 seed UC Irvine. The Vandals beat the Anteaters 71-61 at Memorial Gym.

“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 finale 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.

Sophomore Alli Nieman led the Vandals with 21 points and senior guard Kelli Johnson added 19.

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.

Wenatchee Valley 79, CC Spokane 50

Perhaps the fact the game was just for seeding will take away the sting.

Perhaps not.

As CCS shot 34 percent from the floor and 48 percent from the free-throw line, the Knights took the NWAACC East Region championship. Both teams advance to the NWAACC tournament, beginning Thursday at Yakima.

CCS, the region’s No. 2 seed, will play either Umpqua or Mt. Hood in the first round. Wenatchee will play Clackamas.

Wenatchee Valley (79) - Ochoa 0-0 0-0 0, K.Peterson 3-4 2-2 8, Carter 0-2 0-0 0, C.Peterson 4-8 0-2 8, Van Buskikk 1-1 2-2 4, Frieman 2-6 0-0 5, Gonzalez 0-0 0-0 0, Fancher 0-4 2-2 2, Hopkins 1-3 1-2 3, Sorensen 7-18 5-7 19, Brown 3-5 1-2 7, Doncaster 6-9 5-6 17, Burgess 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 30-63 18- 25 79. CC Spokane (50) - Pilkington 2-8 0-1 4, Bocook 2-7 0-0 5, Carlander 3-12 2-3 9, Watson 2-4 0-2 4, Bradley 1-1 0-0 2, Sell 0-2 3-6 3, Massingale 5-10 5-6 16, Reagan 1-3 1-3 3, Reardon 1-2 2-6 4. Totals 17-49 13-27 50.

Halftime - CC Spokane 21, Wenatchee Valley CC 36. 3-point goals-CC Spokane 3-14 (Pilkington 0-1, Bocook 1-4, Carlander 1-4, Watson 0-1, Sell 0-1, Massingale 1-3),Wenatchee Valley CC 1-5 (Carter 0-2, Frieman 1-3). Fouled out-Pilkington, Massingale. Rebounds-CC Spokane 31 (Carlander 7), Wenatchee Valley CC (Doncaster 7) 35. Assists- CC Spokane 7 (Carlander 4), Wenatchee Valley CC 25 (C. Peterson 10). Total Fouls-CC Spokane 19, Wenatchee Valley CC 24. Technicals-None.

Folkl still undecided

Senior Day at Stanford was supposed to be the occasion for the announcement. Kristin Folkl will keep them guessing.

Folkl, who was supposed to disclose her plans for next season, said she still hasn’t decided whether to return to the Cardinal for a final basketball season or make herself available for professional drafts.

Then she went out and showed she’s ready to go pro, contributing 31 points and 15 rebounds as the No. 5 Cardinal (19-5, 15-1) routed No. 7 Arizona (19-6, 12-4) 108-90 to clinch at least a share of the Pacific-10 Conference title.

“I’m pretty much an ambiguous girl,” said Folkl, a redshirt junior who leads the Cardinal in scoring and rebounding. “I’ve always been that way. I guess it’s pretty frustrating to most people. But I’d really like to keep my options going.

“If I feel like it’s appropriate for me to leave, then I’ll do so. And if I feel staying here is the best option, then I’ll be back here in uniform,” added the 6-foot-2 power forward.

, DataTimes