BOISE - After an early deficit, Seattle University women’s basketball (2-4, 0-0 WCC) clawed its way back within a possession before falling to Boise State (4-1, 0-0 MWC) 86-65 inside ExtraMile Arena on Friday night.
Three Redhawks scored in double figures, with graduate Ella Brubaker leading the way for the third time this season. The guard posted 17 points to match her season high, built in part to her new collegiate best seven makes from the free throw line. She grabbed five rebounds, including three offensive boards, while picking up a new career high five steals.
Redshirt senior Tamia Stricklin scored 12 to tie her season high, shooting 44.4 percent from the field including two triples. She grabbed three rebounds and finished a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Graduate Andjela Bigovic scored 10, her third straight double digit scoring effort. She shot 40 percent from the field including two makes from behind the arc, while picking up four rebounds, one block and two steals.
Sophomore Sydnie Rodriguez scored a season high eight points in her homecoming to Boise, shooting 50 percent from the field while remaining perfect from the stripe this season.
Freshman Jana Vesic orchestrated the offense with four assists, while picking up a block and two steals on the defensive end. Fellow freshman Dylan Mogel secured a new collegiate high five rebounds, including one offensive board, while dishing out two assists. Junior Lucija Milkovic matched Brubaker with five rebounds on the evening.
The Redhawks saw 29 points from their bench compared to Boise State’s nine while scoring 30 points in the paint. They continued to find ways to get to the free throw line, hitting 16-of-18 from the stripe. SU came away with nine steals to lead Boise State while matching the Broncos in blocks with three.
Seattle U got off to a slow start offensively and soon faced an 11 point deficit before Stricklin connected for the first points of the night. Trailing by as many as 14, the Redhawks struck back with a 10-2 run over three minutes, with freshman Chloe Emanga scoring five of the ten. Rodriguez closed out the first quarter from the line, scoring both free throws to make it a three point game with a minute remaining in the first, but a last minute triple from Broncos made it a 21-15 score after ten minutes of play.
The Broncos mimicked their first quarter with an early scoring bout before Brubaker and Rodriguez took back over to erase Boise State’s double digit lead with five minutes remaining before the break. Boise State cut off the SU surge and built its way back to a 12 point lead, but Stricklin, Milkovic and Brubaker pulled the Redhawks within seven from the line heading into the break.
Holding the momentum into half, the Redhawks struck first out of the break scoring five from Bigovic. The Broncos responded with a 9-0 run before Rodriguez cut off the surge with a bucket approaching midway through the third. Milkovic cut the deficit back to single digits to put the Redhawks on a 10-0 run, with Brubaker capping the bout with back-to-back three point plays. The Broncos closed the third with a 10-0 run of their own to lead 61-50 at the end of the third quarter.
SU opened with a 4-2 run to pull back within nine, but the Redhawks would suffer from a scoring drought until the five minute mark. Bigovic broke through for a score before Stricklin traded threes with Boise State. Trailing late, the Redhawks closed on a 4-3 run with scores from Rodriguez and sophomore Fia Proctor before falling 86-65 in Boise.
The Redhawks return next week, traveling across the country for the FIU Thanksgiving Classic. They face Presbyterian to open the tournament on Friday, November 28.
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