by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by University of Idaho Athletics
Weber State Idaho Recap
The Weber State Wildcats run home with their tails between their legs after a 77-52 loss to the Idaho Vandals. The Wildcats officially miss their chance to win a road conference game in the 2022-2023 season but hope to bounce back in their final regular season game.
Weber State (6-23) is one game away from a fresh start in the Big Sky (2-15) after a road loss. The Vandals (13-15) bumped up to fifth in the conference (9-8), with their final game being oh-so decisive in their seeding come tournament time.
Team Leaders
Laura Taylor led Weber State in offense, scoring 14 points on the night. She shot well, hitting four of eight from the field, including two of five from three. She was perfect on her four free-throw attempts, snagging eight rebounds and dishing out an assist.
Charlotte Hegvold was productive from the bench for the Wildcats. The sophomore guard scored 13 points, getting three rebounds and two assists to add to her night. She shot the ball a lot against the Vandals, tied for the most shot attempts on the team (10) with Jadyn Matthews. She was an even 50% from the field and three.
It was the Beyonce Bea show for Idaho. She took over the game, scoring 29 points on 11 of 17 shooting, hitting all six free throws, and earning nine rebounds and three assists. While this is a notable night for many, Bea has produced numbers like this all season. She is the heart and soul of this Vandals’ offense and a major factor in their success in conference play.
Down Big
The Wildcats were outscored in every quarter Saturday. Going down 42-28 at the half the kiss of death was already planted on Weber State and their bottom-tier offense. On both ends of the floor, it was a struggle. For a team that averages 54.2 PPG, it is wishful thinking to keep up when their opponent scores 77, especially on the road.
Weber State had another poor shooting performance, hitting 31.1% from the field to Idaho’s 46.6%. They were dominated in the paint, losing the rebounding clash 44-35 to the Vandals. To top it off, the Wildcats turned the ball over 16 times, which is right at their 15.9 TPG average, but a major factor in their whimpering production. It is hard to win games on the road. It’s even harder when you are utterly dominated on both ends.
Small Improvements
The main improvement for Weber State was the three-point shooting. At 35.7% from range, the Wildcats made amends for their previous battle against Idaho and their previous loss against Eastern Washington, where they combined for one three-pointer in the two games. There is much work to be done for the upcoming tournament, but possibly some promise in the penultimate contest of the regular season.
New faces at the top of the offense also showed some promise. Taylor and Hegvold have seldom topped Weber State’s box score, but with the absence of Daryn Hickok and Jadyn Matthews’ struggles, they took advantage of the opportunity.
What’s to Come
Weber State returns to the Dee Events Center to host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the regular season finale of their campaign Monday.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Laura Taylor, G | 14 | 8 | 1 | 4-8 | 2-5 | 31 |
| Jadyn Matthews, F | 7 | 10 | 3 | 3-10 | 1-4 | 29 |
| Kaiija Lesane, G | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 16 |
| Aaliyah Ellis, G | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1-5 | 1-1 | 28 |
| Vicky Parra, F | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 10 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Charlotte Hegvold, G | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5-10 | 1-2 | 26 |
| Tamalii Fonoti, C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 12 |
| Amelia Raidaveta, F | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Nakilah Johnson, G | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 11 |
| Emri Lovell, G | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-5 | 0-2 | 14 |
| Ava Williams, G | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 18 |
| Team Total | 52 | 35 | 10 | 19-61 | 5-14 |
| Idaho Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Beyonce Bea, G | 29 | 9 | 3 | 11-17 | 1-3 | 33 |
| Tiana Johnson, G | 13 | 5 | 0 | 5-9 | 3-6 | 27 |
| Rosa Smith, G | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3-6 | 2-3 | 22 |
| Brooke Malone, F | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 19 |
| Sydney Gandy, G | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1-7 | 0-5 | 32 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Skylar Bea, F | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Jaiden Bea, G | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 5 |
| Sarah Brans, F | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 12 |
| Ashlyn Wallace, G | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 24 |
| Jordan Allred, G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 2 |
| Asha Phillips, G | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0-6 | 0-3 | 17 |
| Jenna Kilty, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Team Total | 77 | 44 | 13 | 27-58 | 7-26 |