Idaho women outlast Montana State in overtime, take over top spot in Big Sky
There’s a new front-runner in the Big Sky Conference.
The Idaho women’s basketball team is now alone atop the conference standings after overtaking Montana State on Thursday night at ICCU Arena in Moscow. The Vandals prevailed in a thriller between the conference’s top teams, gutting out a 73-70 overtime win.
The Vandals (18-5, 9-1 Big Sky) extended their winning streak to seven games and avenged their last loss, a 33-point setback against Montana State (16-6, 9-2) on Jan. 10.
Idaho led for 34 minutes in regulation but couldn’t gain much separation in the well-matched affair. The Vandals led by five points late in the game, but the Bobcats answered quickly, tying the score at 61 on Addison Harris’ layup with 24 seconds left. Idaho guard Kyra Gardner’s jumper missed at the buzzer.
The Vandals used strong post play and clutch foul shooting to inch past MSU in overtime.
Gardner led all players with 18 points, adding seven rebounds. Forward Debora dos Santos recorded 14 points and 17 rebounds for Idaho, which outrebounded the Bobcats 57-43 to help offset its 27 turnovers.
The Vandals shot 35.5% from the field, 8 of 20 on 3s and 21 of 29 from the free-throw line, while MSU shot 30.3% overall, 8 of 35 on 3s and 16 of 22 from the stripe.
Men
Montana State 73, Idaho 66: Idaho erased most of a large deficit, surging late to make it a one-possession game, but Montana State survived the comeback attempt at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.
Idaho (13-10, 5-5 Big Sky) trailed by as many as 17 points late in the first half and was behind by 14 with under eight minutes left before rallying, trimming the MSU lead to three points in the final minute. But the Bobcats (14-10, 8-3) used free throws to turn back the Vandals.
The Vandals, who trailed for all but a minute of the game, shot 42.2% from the field and 4 of 19 on 3s. Guard Kolton Mitchell scored a game-high 21 points.
The Bobcats shot 43.1% overall, 3 of 11 from 3-point range and 26 of 30 from the line.