Jan. 19, 2006
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Natalie Doma scored a season-high 28 points and Andrea Lightfoot added 18 as Idaho State cruised past Eastern Washington 89-68 Thursday night at Reed Gym. The Bengals improve to 2-1 in Big Sky play, 8-9 overall. Eastern Washington falls to 1-1 in league play, 7-8 overall.
"It's so important to defend your home court in the Big Sky, and we did that tonight," said ISU head coach Jon Newlee. "We came out and matched Eastern Washington's intensity. We knew they would come out strong, and we countered that. I'm proud of the effort, everyone was involved tonight."
Tied 14-14 with 13:29 to go in the first half, Jeni Boesel hit a shot from beyond the arc, sparking an 11-2 Bengal run. The run produced a nine point lead that ISU would build upon to go into the half with a 45-33 advantage.
The second half was more of the same as Idaho State built its lead to 20 points. Eastern Washington was never able to get any closer than 14 points as Idaho State continued to pull away to secure the win.
Led by Doma's 28 points, Idaho State out-scored EWU 32-30 in the paint. Doma connected on 10-of-14 shots from the field. The sophomore center was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Doma also collected seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
"Natalie played a solid game tonight," Newlee said. "She went strong to the basket and finished. The finished hard inside and played big. She got to the rim and put in her shots. She was very consistent tonight. She's capable of that same effort every night."
Lightfoot, the Big Sky's leading scorer (17.8 ppg), was right on her average, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shots from the field. Danica Boyce made her third start of the season, recording a 16 point effort, while Boesel helped with 11 points.
Jenna Brown came off the bench to record an 8-point effort combined with a season-high six assists.
ISU was impressive from the field, connecting on 54.4 percent of its shots compared to EWU's 37.7 percent mark. The Bengals also held Eastern Washington to a 25 percent clip (6-of-24) from beyond the arc. Idaho State tallied nine assists, forcing the Eagles into 22 turnovers on the night.
Jamie Chicane led the Eagle effort with 16 points and five rebounds, while Julie Page came off the bench to tally 10 points.
Idaho State continues Big Sky play Saturday when the team hosts Portland State (6-9, 0-2). The Vikings dropped an 80-61 decision at Weber State Thursday night. Tip-off for Saturday's game is set for 2:05 p.m.
"Portland State is a very frantic team," Newlee said. "We need to handle their pressure and keep our composure. They're a good team, and we'll need to hit our shots. We actually have a height advantage on them, which doesn't happen very often for us."
