The Weber State University women’s basketball team faced off against the Idaho State Bengals at the Dee Events Center on Jan. 27, picking up an 84–73 win and advancing to 14–5 on the season.
With the Weber State win, the team swept the season series against ISU. Last time these two teams faced off, WSU was on the road and came back with a 76-70 victory.
The game opened up with both teams staying active on defense, with the scoreboard reading 14–12 at the end of the first quarter in favor of the Bengals. Both teams were found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, but the Wildcats had a 34–27 lead at the half.
Throughout the first half, the Wildcats offense was carried by senior forward Briana Gray, who scored 14 points and shot 5–7 from the floor, including four 3-pointers.
The second half began with more tightly-contested basketball, until the Wildcats found their groove to head into the fourth quarter with a 56–41 lead. Carrying the Wildcats on offense was senior Larryn Brooks, who scored nine of the 22 WSU points in the quarter.
Whenever the Bengals would start to cut into the lead, senior guard Kailie Quinn took reigns of the offense. She was able to knock down five out of her eight shots from beyond the arc.
Quinn’s fifth 3-pointer of the game was also the 239th of her career, passing Chelsey Warburton for first in career 3-pointers made at WSU and in the Big Sky Conference.
One of the fans in the crowd came into the game with the record on their mind — the senior’s mother, Amy Quinn.
“It was very exciting, it was just unbelievable,” Amy Quinn said. “We got to see it, that’s the best part.”
What has been a dominant WSU career has now become legendary. This is Quinn’s second milestone of the year, having hit the 1,000 career points mark in an earlier game, also against Idaho State.
Quinn said, “I mean I didn’t even know it until I heard it on the intercom, and all of sudden I look up and my face was on the screen, all the hard work is finally paying off.”
Quinn began her career as a freshman who played in all 29 games and started 15 of them. The next year she cemented her spot in the lineup, starting all 35 of WSU’s games. In her junior year, she started all 31 games and climbed up the all-time list with 195 career 3-pointers made.
So far during her senior year, she has led firm in her spot in the starting lineup, and her sharp shooting ability has been a useful weapon for the consistently lethal Wildcat offense.
Head coach Bethann Ord said, “When she decided to come here, we were totally rebuilding, and I told her she’s going to make the record books here. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate that young lady.”
The next home games for the Wildcats will be on Feb. 1, against Southern Utah University and then on Feb. 3 they play Northern Arizona University.
