Bulldogs Hustle Idaho Gonzaga Snaps Its Losing Streak

Kellee Barney asks her Gonzaga women’s basketball team for one thing.

To play hard.

It’s something the fifth-year coach knows the Bulldogs can control.

And Barney liked the effort she saw in Saturday afternoon’s 87-81 non-conference win over Idaho before 1,087 fans at Martin Centre.

The Bulldogs (4-8) snapped a three-game losing streak. They had lost two close games in a row, to Eastern Washington and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“We will still make mistakes,” Barney said. “Like turnovers. And we didn’t block out. We missed shots. But you make up for it when you play hard.

“The difference was their heart and desire, intensity and effort on the floor.”

GU’s shooting was impressive. The Bulldogs shot 51.8 percent, including 53.6 in the first half.

Idaho (7-5) led by 11 points in the first half, with many of them coming off turnovers forced by a full-court man-to-man press.

“When we let them come back on us in the first half, we told them they could beat us,” Vandals coach Hilary Recknor said.

GU freshman Jessica Malone banked in a shot at the halftime buzzer to give the Zags a 42-40 lead. Malone, one of four GU players to score in double digits, made 7 of 13 shots on the way to a team-high 19 points.

The Bulldogs also received a solid effort from senior reserve Cameron Carroll. She was 3 for 3 from the field, converted 3 of 4 free throws for nine points and dished out three assists in 15 minutes of action. Seven of her points came in the final 7:01.

Carroll had missed three weeks of practice after severely spraining both ankles in the preseason.

“It felt good to contribute,” Carroll said. “We needed to step it up. It was like: `Oh no. We better start it up now or we’re never going to go anywhere this season.’ We stepped up to the challenge.”

Barney said she expects Carroll to receive more minutes as the season wears on.

“She gives us a spark,” Barney said. “There are certain players who do that, and that got us back on track.”

Idaho will need to get back on track in a hurry.

The Vandals open Big West Conference play at home Friday against UC Santa Barbara.

Saturday was Idaho’s first game in 15 days, but Recknor said her squad had a good week of practice.

UI has lost seven straight to Gonzaga.

“It’s a spell against us I guess,” said Vandals junior Susan Woolf.

Recknor said she can’t explain the trend. But what she could explain was why her team lost. Idaho had only one player show up, she said.

That was Woolf. The 5-foot-6 guard scored a game-high 27 points to match her career high. She was 9 of 20 from the field - 5 of 12 from 3-point range - and had six steals and three assists.

“Thank (goodness) we had Susan,” Recknor said. “It could’ve been a lot worse. Susan was phenomenal. We did need somebody else and there was nobody.”

Idaho was a dismal 11 of 29 from the free-throw line, including 1 for 6 from Vandals star Alli Nieman. The junior forward from Sandpoint struggled throughout the game to finish with 14 points, seven below her average, and committed five turnovers.

“When you miss 18 free throws in a six-point game, that’s the glaring difference,” Recknor said. “But that’s not even good enough for me. We didn’t execute and did not have good team chemistry.”

Gonzaga 87, Idaho 81

Idaho (7-5) - LeBlanc 1-2 0-0 3, Woolf 9-20 4-4 27, Goss 0-2 0-3 0, Bartleson 5-8 0-1 11, Krell 0-2 0-1 0, Pemberton 1-1 0-0 3, Jackson 3-6 1-2 10, Benad 0-2 0-0 0, Rico 1-3 0-2 2, Nieman 6-15 1-6 14, Stone 3-8 2-4 8, Wynstra 0-3 3-6 3, Purcell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-73 11-29 81.

Gonzaga (4-8) - Waltz 1-4 3-4 5, Carroll 3-3 3-4 9, Osberg 6-12 2-2 17, Bergman 2-4 0-1 5, McNairy 0-0 0-0 0, Jeffries 4-8 3-6 12, Malone 7-13 3-5 19, Deal 1-1 0-1 2, Tipps 3-7 5-7 11, Correa 0-0 0-0 0, Perno 2-4 3-3 7. Totals 29-56 22-33 87.

Halftime - Gonzaga 42, Idaho 40. 3-point goals - Idaho 12-31 (Woolf 5-12, Jackson 3-6, Pemberton 1-1, Bartleson 1-2, LeBlanc 1-2, Nieman 1-3, Benad 0-1, Rico 0-1, Krell 0-1, Goss 0-2), Gonzaga 7-17 (Osberg 3-4, Malone 2-7, Jeffries 1-2, Bergman 1-2, Waltz 0-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Idaho 41 (Nieman 9), Gonzaga 45 (Tipps, Perno 7). Assists - Idaho 11 (Woolf, Jackson, Nieman 3), Gonzaga 17 (Waltz 7). Total fouls - Idaho 27, Gonzaga 25. Technicals - None. A - 1,087.

Whitworth 85, Northwest 73

After trailing by four at halftime, the Pirates shot 69 percent in the second half to win a non-league game at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Pirates (6-3), including a game-high 27 points by Jamie Wakefield.

NWC (8-5) led 40-36 at halftime.

Northwest - Huebner 0-2 1-4 1, Lockard 4-10 0-0 11, Miller 2-5 0-0 6, Vicknair 1-6 1-2 3, Johnson 3-10 7-8 13, Swedberg 4-5 0-0 8, Nipp 6-10 6-7 19, Jackson 5-10 2-2 12. Totals 25-58 17-23 73.

Whitworth - Bandy 2-6 1-2 5, Stuenkel 5-7 0-0 10, Albertson 0-0 0-0 0, Dreewes 0-0 0-0 0, Ratcliff 0-2 0-0 0, Wakefield 10-14 7-8 27, Turner 0-1 0-0 0, Werner 5-6 1-2 12, Slwooko 6-11 3-6 16, Olson 6-13 3-4 15. Totals 34-60, 15-22 85.

Halftime - Northwest 40, Whitworth 36. 3-point goals - Northwest 6-13 (Lockard 3-8, Miller 2-2, Nipp 1-1, Jackson 0-2). Whitworth 2-7 (Werner 1-1, Slwooko 1-1, Olson 0-1, Turner 0-1, Ratcliff 0-1, Wakefield 0-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Northwest 31 (Nipp 8), Whitworth 37 (Bandy 7). Assists - Northwest 12 (Nipp 4), Whitworth 22 (Stuenkel 7). Total fouls - Northwest 19, Whitworth 19. Technicals - None.

North Idaho 67, Lower Columbia 48

Alisha Nater led three players in double figures as the Cardinals improved to 10-1 with an easy non-league victory at Coeur d’Alene.

Nater scored 16 points, Kammi Cottrell 12 and Amy Lemon 11.

Lower Columbia - Sellards 2-10 4-6 9, VanBrocklyn 2-7 0-0 4, Lowe 1-2 2-2 4, Dahlquist 2-10 2-4 7, Brazzle 4-13 2-4 12, Garrison 3-7 2-2 8, Matilla 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 16-54 12-18 48.

North Idaho (10-1) - Middlesworth 0-2 0-0 0, Lemon 4-9 0-0 11, Huddle 1-6 4-4 6, Lindhe 2-9 2-2 6, Cottrell 6-9 0-0 12, Broxton 0-1 0-0 0, Meece 0-0 0-1 0, Hudgens 2-4 0-0 4, Fisher 3-7 1-2 7, A. Nater 6-11 4-7 16, Ryan 0-3 2-2 2, Shaw 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 25-66 14-21 67.

Halftime - North Idaho 30, Lower Columbia 24. 3-point goals - Lower Columbia 4-12 (Brazzle 2-3, Dahlquist 1-3, Sellards 1-5, VanBrocklyn 0-1), North Idaho 3-9 (Lemon 3-4, Huddle 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Lindhe 0-3). Fouled out - Sellards, Lowe. Rebounds - Lower Columbia 34 (Matilla 10), North Idaho 41 (Fisher 8). Assists - Lower Columbia 14 (Sellards 4), North Idaho 22 (Middlesworth 7). Total fouls - Lower Columbia 15, North Idaho 14. Technicals - None. A - 100 est.

Bulldogs 87 Vandals 81 Thursday: GU at Loyola Marymount; UCSB at Idaho