Jan. 29, 2004
Stats
Pocatello, ID--Laraine Barron scored a career-high 25 points and four others scored in double figures as Idaho State moved into a tie for second place in the Big Sky with a 92-61 win over Eastern Washington Thursday night at Reed Gymnasium.
The win ups ISU's record to 12-5 overall, 4-1 in Big Sky play. The Eagles fall to 10-7 overall, 3-1 in league play.
"WOW!," said head coach Jon Newlee. "If someone would have told me that we would win this big over Eastern Washington, I would have said you were crazy. Eastern Washington is a very good team. If we played like we did tonight, we could be anyone. To do what we did tonight to a team like Eastern Washington was great."
Barron scored her 25 points on 9-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. She also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out five assists and tallied two steals. She is the seventh player on this year's team to score 20+ points in a game.
"Barron is the type of player that everyone wants on their team," Newlee said. "She always takes a beating, never complains, and plays tough defense. Tonight was no surprise to us. She plays hard all the time and never expects praise. It was great to see her come out like she did tonight."
ISU's Monika Marekova came off the bench to score 15 points in just 10 minutes of play. She scored on 6-of-8 shots from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Lindy Whitley dropped in 14 points, Christa Brossman added 13 with nine rebounds, and Annie Anderson recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bengals outrebounded the Eagles 43-29, tallying 21 defensive boards and 12 offensive. ISU's bench continues to impress, scoring 24 points to Eastern Washington's 11. The Bengals also outscored the Eagles 30-18 in the point.
"Our number one emphasis coming into tonight's game was to box out and get the rebound," Newlee said. "We did a great job of doing that tonight. I though we did as well as we could at stopping (Kathleen) Nygaard. She did score 20 points and got 11 boards, but she is a great player and was hitting her outside shot. Holding her to 20 points tonight was good, and that just goes to show you what a great player she is."
The win puts ISU (4-1) in a tie with Weber State for second place in the Big Sky standings. Montana holds the top spot at 4-0. Eastern Washington's 3-1 record drops them to fourth place. Northern Arizona and Sacramento State sit at 1-4, while Portland State remains winless at 0-4.
Idaho State continues Big Sky play Saturday afternoon with a 2:05 p.m. match-up with Portland State.
