Vandals pile up 31 points in the third quarter, breeze past Portland State

PORTLAND – Emerging as one of the top teams in the conference, Idaho outclassed one of the Big Sky’s bottom teams.

The Vandals led the whole way, surging in the third quarter and breezing to an 84-66 win over Portland State on Saturday afternoon at Viking Pavilion.

Idaho (15-5, 6-1 Big Sky) led 42-35 at the half, then erupted for 31 points in the third, outscoring the Vikings (5-14, 1-6) by 18 points in the period. The Vandals hit five 3-pointers in the third – three from guard Hope Hassmann, who starred with 20 points and a career-high 12 assists on the day.

Guard Kyra Gardner added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Vandals, who shot 45.6% from the field and matched a season high in 3-point makes, hitting 11 of 23 (47.8%) from deep. Idaho outrebounded PSU 46-34 and held the Vikings to 36.5% shooting.

The Vandals sit in second in the Big Sky standings.