Feb. 3, 2005
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Five Bengals scored in double figures as Idaho State reached the century mark for just the seventh time in school history in a 101-57 win over Big Sky Conference foe Montana State Thursday night at Reed Gym.
Idaho State's 44 point win is the sixth largest margin over an opponent in school history and the largest defeat ever over an opponent from the Big Sky Conference. With the win, ISU improves to 8-11 overall, 3-3 in Big Sky play. The Bobcats fall to 7-12 overall, 1-5 in league play.
"It all finally came together tonight," said ISU head coach Jon Newlee. "Our team played the way I have expected them to play all season. They are very capable of doing this every night. We had a great week of practice and it carried over to the game."
The Bengals trailed just one time, 4-5, four minutes into the contest and never looked back. ISU extended its lead to 17 points at halftime, 40-23, after a pair of threes from Christa Brossman and Stevi Seitz. Idaho State then out-scored Montana State 61-34 in the second half to take the 101-57 win. Manager turned player Dana Beechie put the Bengals over the century mark after hitting a running floater on the baseline with four seconds remaining.
The Bengals connected on an impressive 13-of-23 shots from beyond the arc, nine of which came in the second half. On the night, ISU shot 58 percent from the floor. The squad committed a season-low seven turnovers while forcing MSU into 14.
Natalie Doma led all scores with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The freshman center also collected six rebounds and one block. Molly Hays nearly tallied a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
Monika Marekova came off the bench to score 16 points in just 10 minutes. Marekova was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Christa Brossman also tallied 16 points on 6-of-9 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from three.
Stevi Seitz also reached double-figures with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
India Soo led the Bengals with six assists on the night while recording eight points on the night.
The Bengals also beat Montana State on the boards, pulling down a season-high 40 rebounds to MSU's 29.
Scotta Morton led the Bobcats with 19 points. The Bengals held the Big Sky's leading scorer, Katie Burrows (22.6 points per game) to just six points on 1-of-6 shooting.
"Burrows was our focus tonight," Newlee said. "I also thought Christa (Brossman) did a great job on Hillary Scott tonight. We executed our game plan and things happened for us. This is a big win for us and hopefully it can carry over to our game with Montana on Saturday."
The Bengals host Montana on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. The Lady Griz hold a perfect 6-0 record in Big Sky play after defeating Weber State 58-49 in Ogden Thursday night.
