Jan. 2, 2009
Final Stats
Complete Northern Colorado Box Score 
Greeley, CO--Defense wins games and Idaho State proved it as the Bengals opened the Big Sky season with a 60-55 victory over Northern Colorado Friday night at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. Idaho State improves its perfect series record to 7-0 over the Bears and breaks the Bengals losing streak of five. Idaho State improves to 4-10 for the season while Northern Colorado falls to 6-7 overall.
Northern Colorado who leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage (.407), three-point field goal percentage (.356) and three-pointers made per game (7.92) was held to .321 from the field and .273 from the arc (6-of-22) by the Bengals, the league's leading three-point field goal defense team. Idaho State shot .415 from the field hitting 22-of-53 and the team was .353 from three-point range hitting 6-of-17 shots.
Defense was certainly the key for the Bengals as they set up double and even triple team blocks and traps that reduced UNC's ability to convert possessions into points in the second half as Idaho State kept Northern Colorado to just eight points over ten minutes of play. At the same time the Bengals went on to score 24 points turning an eight point deficit into an eight point lead.
"Hopefully it restores their confidence," said head coach Seton Sobolewski about opening the Big Sky with a victory. "With that confidence we have to build consistency. We've got to keep pushing while we're confident and see if we can turn this into a roll."
Though the Bengals were out-rebounded 37-35 and edged out by offensive rebounds 15-to-13, the Bengals were able to hit the offensive boards hard pulling down crucial rebounds at the end of the second half to run down the clock and secure their victory. Rebounds became important as ISU struggled at the line going 4-of-8 in the final minutes with Northern Colorado fouling ISU to get the Bengals into a one-and-one situation.
Senior Jenna Brown, ISU's best free throw shooter, was 4-for-6 at the line over the night hitting 3-of-4 in the final minutes to help ISU post a 59-52 lead. Northern Colorado's Kaisha Brown would hit a quick three to shorten the lead to four, but Adams would get the final word posting the last point of the game at the line. Idaho State hit 10-of-16 shots from the line, 62.5 percent, while Northern Colorado hit 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.
Idaho State hit the court fired up as they set went on a 10-2 run dominating possession. Sophomore Chelsea Pickering put the first points on the board for the Bengals off an early open jumper. Northern Colorado would essentially wakeup after the first media time-out and it would be a back-and-forth battle from there. ISU would hold the lead until Jamie Schroeder hit a falling up and under shot in the paint after slipping between two Bengal defenders who set up a double-team block to take a 13-12 lead.
Senior Michelle Grohs would tie it up 16-16 on a three point shot. Shortly after Schroeder, UNC's leading scorer who averages 11.8 points per game, left the floor after an injury to her right knee due to a collision with Pickering as the Bengal went up for a jumper in the paint. Pickering drew the foul and went 1-for-1 to take a one-point lead. Schroeder left the game after posting five points going 2-for-4 from the field and 1-for-2 from the three-point range.
Idaho State would keep it close heading into the break down four points at 29-25. Pickering was a force for the Bengals in the first half leading the game with 10 points into the break hitting 4-of-11 from the field and 1-of-2 from the arc. She went 1-for-2 at the line and pulled down six rebounds, two on offense.
"She [Pickering] started getting some good offensive rebounds," said Sobolewski about Pickering's performance in the first half. "Later she got some good looks." Sobolewski also commented on Pickering's defensive effort as she had one-of-the-hardest assignments guarding Schroeder and Whitley Cox, who was held to just four points.
In the second half, the Bengals tied up the score at 29-29 off of a Oana Iacovita jumper (10 points, 7 rebounds). However, ISU would trail the Bears by eight seven minutes into play. However, the Bengals have fought back from double-figure trails with ease and so stepped into gear hustling on defense to hold UNC to just eight shots, while the Bengals would go on to post 24 points.
Idaho State had three players in double-digits with senior Michelle Grohs leading the way at 17 points. Sophomore Pickering ended with 14 and Iacovita recorded 10 points. All three players came close to double-doubles as Grohs posted eight rebounds (as well as five assists) and Pickering and Iacovita each recorded seven rebounds. Northern Colorado's Kate Kevorken was the only Bear to post double-digits in points with 10, she also recorded eight rebounds.
The Bengals look to continue their 2009 winning ways as the Bengals host Eastern Washington, head coach Sobolewski's first home conference game at Idaho State, on Thursday, January 8 at Reed Gym. Tip-off begins at 7:05 p.m.
Notes: Idaho State recorded posted its second victory when trailing at the half ... Northern Colorado hit 90 percent of its free throw shots in the first half going 9-of-10 ... Idaho State continues to work as a team posting 15 assists to UNC's seven ... ISU's opponent led the turnover count for the fourth time this seas as UNC recorded 18 to ISU's 16 turnovers ... Both teams recorded eight steals ... Idaho State out blocked the Bears 6-to-4 ... With the "w" in the win column for Idaho State the Bengals thwarted Northern Colorado from its chance to earn its program's 500th victory.
