Dec. 13, 2003
Stats
Moscow, ID--Leilani Mitchell hit a late basket, then added five late free throws to hold off an Idaho State University rally as the University of Idaho defeated the Bengals 81-77 in women's basketball action Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum.
Mitchell hit a shot in the lane with 25 seconds left in the game to increase the Vandal edge to 74-70. She then hit a pair of free throws to increase the lead to six at 76-70. Christa Brossman came back with a three-pointer off an inbounds pass with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to just 76-73. But Mitchell hit another pair of free throws to increase the edge to 78-73. A Udy layup pulled the Bengals to 78-75. But Mitchell finished off the Bengals with another free throw with five seconds left.
Senior Heidi Gifford led the way for the Bengals with a season-high 18 points in the game before fouling out late in the second half. Joining Gifford in double figures was Molly Hays with 10 points, Laraine Barron with 12 points and Monika Marekova with 10 points.
"Heidi played well, but was hampered by early foul trouble," ISU Head Coach Jon Newlee said. "Monika played well offensively with Molly and Heidi in foul trouble. They took us out of our game with their physical defensive pressure. If they are allowed to play that way they are going to beat some teams."
ISU hit on 16-of-18 free throws in the game (88.9%). ISU shot 42.9 percent from the field (27-63), but only hit on 7-of-19 three-point attempts, tying for a season low.
Mitchell led the way for the Vandals with 22 points, including 17 in the second half. Also scoring in double figures for the Vandals was Taylor Benson with 17 points and Emily Beers with 24 points. UI shot 49.1 percent from the field (26-53), including 10-of-23 from three-point range (43.5%).
Idaho led the way nearly the entire first half, until a Merrilee Udy three-pointer in the final 30 seconds gave the Bengals their first lead of the game. ISU took a 40-39 lead into the locker room at the half.
The game remained tight until ISU took a big lead when UI Head Coach Mike Divilbiss was called for back-to-back technical fouls, leading to his ejection. Whitley hit all four technical free throws and the Bengals followed with another basket to take an eight-point lead. ISU would keep that lead until a free throw gave the Vandals their first lead of the second half at 62-61 just inside the 10-minute mark of the second half.
Finishing the Vandal comeback was an 18-5 run that helped UI lead by as much as eight points. They would hold on from there thanks to Mitchell's heroics.
With the loss ISU fell to 5-2 on the season, and saw a three-game win streak end. Idaho remains undefeated at 6-0 on the season. The Bengals will be off until Saturday, December 20 when they travel south to Provo, UT, when they will face the Brigham Young University Cougars at 1:00 p.m.
