Dec. 6, 2005
Final Stats
Cedar City, UT--Despite four players in double figures, Idaho State struggled defensively, giving Southern Utah an 80-75 win Tuesday night at the Centrum Arena.
Prior to Tuesday's matchup, Idaho State had won eight straight over SUU. The win pushes Southern Utah's record to 4-2 overall, while Idaho State falls to 3-4 on the season.
"There was no defensive intensity tonight," said ISU head coach Jon Newlee. "We had a defensive breakdown that was reminiscent of the Washington State game. Our transition defense didn't show up tonight."
ISU, who led 28-22 with six minutes remaining in the first half allowed SUU to go on a 17-4 run to end the half and take a 39-32 halftime lead.
SUU took control of the second half to lead by as many as eight points. The Bengals rallied to cut the SUU lead to just one point, 73-72 with 1:17 remaining, but gave up a 7-3 run by the T-Birds to end the game.
"They hit the big shots tonight," Newlee said of Southern Utah. "We didn't match their intensity, and we got scared to shoot."
Natalie Doma paced Idaho State with a team-high 21 points, all of which came in the second half. Doma, who was 0-of-5 from the field in the first half, went 8-of-16 in the second half. The sophomore center connected on 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
Andrea Lightfoot added 19 points on 5-of-17 shots, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Jeni Boesel notched 15 points in the effort, while Chelsey Chambers recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
As a team, Idaho State shot 35.2 percent from the floor on 25-of-72 shots, while Southern Utah shot 43.3 percent. The Thunderbirds out-rebounded the Bengals 46-43.
Southern Utah got a lot of productivity from its bench with 30 points compared to ISU's 3 bench points.
Charmaine Piula scored a career-high 25 points for SUU. Emily Mothershed netted 15 and Cassie Hall added 14 for the T-Birds.
Idaho State now returns home for a Saturday afternoon matchup with in-state rival Idaho at 2:05 p.m. at Reed Gym.
