BOISE — Lizzy Klinker scored a career-high 21 points for Idaho, but it wasn’t enough as the top-seeded Vandals lost to Portland State 75-59 in the semifinal round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament at Century Link Arena on Wednesday.
Idaho led 16-15 after one, but Portland State imposed its will the rest of the way. The Vikings led 32-28 at halftime and 50-42 after three before pulling away for the 16-point win. Kylie Jimenez scored a game-high 22 points for PSU while also dishing out nine assists. Ashley Bolston added 17 points for the Vikings.
Klinker was Idaho’s most productive player on Wednesday, adding nine rebounds, one block and one steal to her stat line. Hailey Christopher added 16 points for the Vandals, but Taylor Pierce, who scored a career-high 31 points on Tuesday, scored just two points on Wednesday. Pierce was 1 of 13 from the floor and 0 for 12 from 3-point range.
Natalie Klinker, Lizzy’s younger sister, didn’t score, but she did record seven rebounds in the loss.
The Klinker sisters are Fairfield natives, and Natalie helped lead the Eagles to the 2017 Class B state championship.
