OGDEN -- Playing only for pride as the clock winds down on the 2009-10 season hasn't quenched the Wildcats' competitive thirst.
Facing off against preseason Big Sky Conference favorite Portland State, it came down to a buzzer-beating block before the Vikings escaped the Dee Events Center with a 65-62 road win over the Wildcats on Saturday night.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
"I couldn't be more proud of this team right now," Weber State coach Carla Taylor said. "At this point of the season, they still have the pride to go out on the court and compete and battle. It's a team effort and all nine players contributed. They've done a great job of representing their university by staying competitive."
Senior point guard Tonya Schnibbe had a career-high 26 points and pulled down five rebounds, while senior guard Sarah Conner added 16 points. Senior Ali Thorderson, who has been forced out of position due to injuries, had six rebounds and two assists. Weber State's three seniors will face the final game of their careers next Saturday night.
Weber State twice battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to cut Portland State's lead to just one, the second time coming after freshman guard/forward Megan Patterson drilled a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to make it 63-62. The Vikings' Kelly Marchant made two free throws with 10 seconds left to push the lead to three and PSU's Katy Wade got her hand on Schnibbe's potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to help the team escape with the win.
Eryn Jones led Portland State, which clinched the final Big Sky Conference tournament berth, with 21 points.
* IDAHO 54, UTAH STATE 53: At the Smith Spectrum, in January, the Utah State women's basketball team needed a last-second shot to defeat Idaho in Moscow. On Saturday, it was the Vandals turn as Rachele Kloke's three pointer as time expired lifted Idaho over Utah State.
The loss was the Aggies fourth straight as USU falls to 12-15 overall and 4-10 in the Western Athletic Conference. Idaho improves to 9-18 overall and evens its WAC record to 7-7.
Utah State was led by a trio of players that scored in double digits. Junior guard Alice Coddington led the way with 14 points all of which were scored in the second half. Red-shirt freshman Banna Diop scored 12 points and added eight rebounds in the loss. Junior guard Amber White scored 10 points and added a career-high five assists.
Idaho was led by career-high 28 points from Rachele Kloke, who drained four three pointers, including the game winner. Kloke was the only Vandal in double digits, as Yinka Olorunnife was second in scoring with eight points. Shaena Kuehu added seven points and eight steals for Idaho. The Vandals had 12 steals in the game.
In the first half, Idaho was struggling offensively, as the Vandals missed their first 10 shots of the game before Kloke made a layup at the 15:33 mark. Neither team was shooting well in the first half as USU held only an 8-4 lead six minutes into the first half.
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