Weber State basketball: Wildcats battle and narrowly fall, 79-74, to Vandals

A big second half and a huge surge in the fourth quarter wasn't quite enough as Weber State women's basketball narrowly fell to the University of Idaho on Monday afternoon.

"We battled against a very good team," said head coach Velaida Harris. "Idaho attempts about 35 3-pointers a game, and they only put up 16 against us. Except for a three-minute span at the end of the first half, that was our best defensive game to date. We gave up a 9-0 run to end the first half, and other than that, we put ourselves in a position to win that game. We've made a lot of improvements and will continue to make progress as we keep going."

Weber State got the first bucket of the game from Dominique Williams with a top of the key jumper. Shianne Johnson immediately followed that with a made three to give WSU an early lead. By the end of the first quarter, however, WSU had fallen behind and trailed 19-14.

WSU held Idaho to just four points to in the first three minutes of the second quarter. However, the Vandals went on a 14-6 run to end the second quarter and took a 37-24 lead.

Weber State had a huge second half by scoring 50 total points, doubling its first-half efforts. Going into the fourth quarter the Wildcats trailed by 11. Williams started the fourth off with a made three to reduce the Vandals lead to a single digit.

The Wildcats kept chipping away, and with one minute remaining, WSU only trailed by three. WSU made some big shots in the final seconds of the game to keep the game close. Williams had a jumper in the paint and Johnson had tip-in to contribute to WSU's big fourth quarter efforts. Weber State scored 35 points in the fourth quarter.

However, it wasn't enough and the Vandals sunk some big free throws to claim the 79-74 victory over the Wildcats.

The player of the game was Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman who had 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. This was her season high and her first double-double of the season.

Williams also had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson also hit double figures with 13 points, and Kayla Watkins added 11 to the Wildcat efforts.

Weber State shot 38 percent from the field, 26 percent from the three and 73 percent from the free-throw line. The Wildcats pulled down 38 rebounds, as well as had 11 assists and five steals.

Idaho shot 44 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three and 81 percent from the free-throw line. The Vandals pulled down 45 rebounds, 12 assists, seven blocks and eight steals.

Weber State now drops to 3-9 overall on the season and 0-2 in Big Sky Conference play. The Wildcats will hit the road to take on Northern Arizona followed by in-state rival Southern Utah.

from Deseret News http://bit.ly/2AozcCq