Idaho women need strong ending to Big Sky basketball regular season

A split on the road last week leaves defending Big Sky tournament champion Idaho in fifth place and needing some help to avoid playing in Monday’s first round of the tournament.

The Vandals (16-11, 10-6) host NAU on Wednesday and Southern Utah on Friday before they hit the road to Reno.

Idaho has taken four straight against the Lumberjacks, including a 91-80 win last month in Flagstaff, Arizona, that saw guard Mikayla Ferenz hit nine 3-pointers on her way to a school-record 41 points.

Ferenz is coming off a 32-point effort at Weber State that puts her in the lead in the conference scoring race at 18.1 points a game. Eastern Washington forward Delaney Hodgins is second at 17.7 ppg.