RENO, Nev (March 9, 2016) – After all of the dramatic finishes in Wednesday’s Big Sky tournament action, there had to be no way anything could top the excitement of the three early games.
Well, that proved to be wrong in the final game of the night, between Idaho and Weber State, as the Vandals’ Taylor Pierce hit a fall-away three to give third-seeded Idaho an 86-83 overtime win over the sixth-seeded Wildcats.
Idaho trailed, 67-58, with 7:12 left in regulation, and trailed, 76-72, with 23 seconds left in overtime. However, a three-point shot and a free throw by Mikayla Ferenz helped the Vandals into an overtime, where they were dead-locked at 83-83 with 1:31 left. Both teams had opportunities, but it was Pierce who hit a late three to give Idaho a win.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, as Weber State held a 24-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Idaho cut into the lead at halftime, 39-36, and outscored Weber State, 40-37, in the second half.
Idaho’s Mikayla Ferenz finished with 29 points, on 10-of-20 shooting. Ferenz also made 8-of-16 free-throws. Ali Forde contributed 16 points.
Weber State’s Deeshyra Thomas scored 24 points, on 7-of-13 shooting.
Idaho will face off against Eastern Washington at 2:35 on Friday, in the Big Sky semifinals. On a related note, the Idaho and Eastern Washington men’s programs will play Thursday night in the men’s quarterfinals.