Two Idaho teams will clash for a spot in Big Sky championship game in Boise

The University of Idaho and Idaho State women’s basketball teams will meet in a Big Sky Conference tournament semifinal Wednesday night in Boise after winning their quarterfinal matchups. No. 2 seed Idaho comes in off a close win against Portland State, while No. 3 Idaho State finished more comfortably over Southern Utah.

The winner of the 8 p.m. game at CenturyLink Arena will play in the championship game Friday against No. 1 Montana State or No. 5 Northern Arizona.

“This is probably the game (Idaho fans) were hoping for,” Idaho State coach Seton Sobolewski said. “It’s just kind of an old-school rivalry.”

Idaho will have history on its side. The Vandals already have beaten Idaho State twice this season, including a 61-50 win Friday in Pocatello. You don’t have to go far to find the last Bengals win, though. They took last year’s regular-season finale, 73-67.

Idaho has won eight of its past nine games and has finished in the top three in the conference standings the past three years. Idaho State is on its own hot streak, winning 10 of its last 12.

Idaho 56, Portland State 54

The clutch gene must run in the Klinker family.

Lizzy and Natalie Klinker led Idaho (20-9, 15-5 Big Sky) to victory in the quarterfinals. In the third quarter, Portland State (15-15, 9-11) led 38-30 and it looked like the Vikings might pull off the upset against the tournament’s No. 2 seed.

However, Lizzy Klinker didn’t feel like going home early. With 4:04 left in the quarter, she scored a tough basket on the inside, warding off defenders with her off hand and laying the ball in. She jumped up and down on her way up the court and started clapping as she got into her defensive stance. She was ready to bring her team back into the game, and her sister was just as ready. Idaho went on a 12-4 run from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth. Lizzy Klinker scored 10 of those points, Natalie Klinker had the other two.

“My mid-range shot was there,” Lizzy Klinker said. “I have confidence in it and coach said from the beginning that it was going to be open.”

After a basket by Idaho’s Isabelle Hadden, the game was tied at 44 and it was Natalie’s turn to take over. She went on a 9-3 run by herself and grabbed three offensive rebounds. She finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

“We really needed them both to do what they did today,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. “I’m really, really proud of these guys.”

Lizzy Klinker finished with 19 points and five rebounds. The Klinker sisters scored 25 of Idaho’s last 30 points. Beyonce Bea was the only other Vandal to score in double figures with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Idaho finished the game shooting 31% from the field and only 1-for-17 from 3-point range. The Vandals did grab 16 offensive rebounds and forced 13 turnovers, allowing them to shoot 14 more shots than Portland State, who was led in scoring by Tatiana Streun (18 points) and Jordan Stotler (17 points).

Idaho State 70, Southern Utah 63

It was a back-and-forth game for almost the entire 40 minutes, but when it mattered most, Idaho State pulled away and sealed a Big Sky quarterfinal victory.

Both teams went on 7-0 runs at the beginning of the game, and then after that, they traded baskets back and forth like an intense game of hot potato. One minute it looked like Idaho State would go on a run, only for Southern Utah (17-12, 11-9 Big Sky) to get a stop and a quick basket to pull within two again.

“It took us a while to figure it out,” Sobolewski said. “In the first half we really struggled at times.”

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Idaho State (17-13, 13-7) felt some momentum turn in its favor. Dora Goles dove for a loose ball out of bounds early in the quarter and ended up on the ground for a few moments. After she was looked at by a trainer, she checked back into the game at the next dead ball. Her team picked up the energy from there. She ended up grabbing five offensive boards and stealing the ball twice, showing off her hustle.

“(My team) kind of got scared for me,” Goles said. “They were like, ‘We’re not going to lose this one,’ and then when I got back in, we played even harder.”

Not long after, Montana Oltrogge hit a 3-pointer with 6:54 left in the game to put the Bengals up 59-53. She kept her arm up, holding her follow-through like every grade school coach teaches, and walked back down the court, a little swagger to her step and the Bengals finally feeling good about themselves.

Southern Utah made a few more runs to try to get back into the game, but the deficit was never smaller than five after that point. Oltrogge hit two more free throws with 11 seconds left. She finished with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 6-of-8 from the 3-point line.

“She played with a lot of confidence,” Sobolewski said. “She looked for her shot. … You can’t say enough about her confidence. She stuck with it. I’m really excited about her for the future.”

Oltrogge was followed in the scoring column by Diaba Konate and Callie Bourne, who both had 12 points. Idaho State held Southern Utah to only 16% shooting in the fourth quarter and forced 13 turnovers in the game. The Bengals shot 42% from 3-point range and grabbed nine offensive rebounds. Southern Utah was led by Harley Hansen with 13 points and Rebecca Cardenas with 12.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 9:31 PM.