Feb. 21, 2008
Final Stats
Bozeman, MT --- National player of the year candidate Natalie Doma helped the Bengals punch their ticket to the Big Sky Tournament by scoring 32 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Idaho State's 85-71 victory over Montana State in Bozeman Thursday night. The Bengals (17-7, 9-3) shot 52 percent from the field and led the Bobcats (12-12, 7-5) by as many as 19 at one point. With Montana's win over Weber State the stage is set for a showdown for first place in the Big Sky when the Bengals head to Missoula on Saturday.
Andrea Lightfoot scored 22 points and grabbed nine boards as she and Doma carried the load for the Bengals in the first half combining for 29 of the Bengals 38 first half points. For the game, Doma shot 14-26 from the field and Lightfoot shot 7-12, including 3-7 from three-point range. Bianca Cheever came of the bench to add ten points.
The Bobcats had three players score in double figures led by Rebecca Mercer and Jenny Heringer who had 17 points each. Krislyn Wallace put up 15 points. Nubia Garcia collected 15 rebounds for Montana State, who out-rebounded the Bengals by one.
Idaho State shared the ball better than Montana State did by besting the Bobcats in assists 18-7 led by Lightfoot's four. That helped lead to the high shooting percentage for the Bengals. Idaho State was able to hold Montana State to just 38 percent from the floor and just 2-13 from beyond the arc.
With their tournament berth secured, the Bengals will now work on hosting it by heading to Montana for a huge first place showdown. The Grizzlies lead the Bengals by a game, but Idaho State won the first meeting so a Bengal win would give them first place by virtue of the tiebreaker. That game will tip off in Missoula at 7:05 pm Saturday night.
Notes: Natalie Doma became the Big Sky's all-time leader in career free throws made... She also tied the Big Sky record for career field goals made held by Montana's Shannon Cate (808)... Doma has scored 30 or more points four times this season, the most in the Big Sky.... Doma collected her Big Sky leading 21st double-double of the season... Jenna Brown swiped a career- high three steals and tied a career-high with four rebounds... Oana Iacovita got her second straight start of the season and handed out a career high two assists.
