Jan. 31, 2009
Final Stats
Complete Weber State Box Score 
Pocatello, ID--Senior Jenna Brown had a career-high 24 point game and a buzzer beater three in the final second of overtime nearly 10 feet off the arc, but it was not enough as the Bengals fell 78-77 to Weber State at Reed Gym Saturday night. Idaho State fell by one point in its first overtime effort while Weber State improved to 2-0 in overtime games.
Weber State improved to 2-6 in the Big Sky and 7-14 for the season in a contest that saw 11 tied scores and 14 lead changes. The first period was a nail-bitter as the largest lead of the first half was three points by Joey O'Neill layup with 37 seconds to go. However, Iacovita would hit a jumper with 12 seconds left to hold the Wildcats to a one-point lead at the half. Early fouls had Weber State see the line early, and would come back to bite the Bengals as they would have three players foul out in overtime. During the first period Weber State saw the line 12 times sinking eight of those attempts while Idaho State was 2-of-3 at the line.
The second half started off leaning toward the Wildcats but a 12-4 run sparked by a Caitlin Anderson three sent Weber State into an 11 point lead, the largest of the game at the 5:51 mark. The run was enhanced by a cold shooting streak from the Bengals as they dropped to 33 percent from the field.
Senior Brown seemed to take personal offense to the Wildcat run as she led Idaho State in the quick response 16-5 run initiated by her with a layup. Brown posted seven of ISU's points during the run and tied the game in the final four seconds as she drove hard to the right side of the basket making the layup to tie the game at 63-63 sending it into overtime. The 5-3 guard had a solid night as she pulled down six rebounds, eight assists and a steal in her 45 minutes of play.
"I think she played well again she's the one that plays with a lot of heart," said head coach Seton Sobolewski of senior guard Brown. "I think she struggled the first half and took some tough shots, but the second half she made a couple tough shots and she got better shots. She puts everything she's got into it and that's what has to happen. We've got to play competitive with eight people."
Foul trouble saw the small eight player Bengal bench reduced to five as three Bengals fouled out in the overtime period. The first player to foul out was junior Oana Iacovita at the 3:31 mark who recorded the only Bengal double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Devin Diehl and Verity Peets also left the court with five fouls each with a minute and four seconds remaining in overtime, respectively.
"It was a tough overtime game to go into because Oana had four fouls and fouled out and we only had eight players to start," said Sobolewski. "Then when people do foul out other people have to play out of position. We'd like to go into overtime at full strength."
Weber State posted seven of its 15 overtime points at the line hitting 7-of-14, just 50 percent. Overall, the Wildcats saw the charity tripe 37 times hitting 23-of-37 for 62.2 percent. The Bengals weren't much better at the line, but didn't see enough action as they were 18-of-26 for the game at 69.2 percent. ISU was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe during overtime.
Idaho State made just two three-point shots during regulation to shoot 2-of-16 from the arc. The Bengals needed just five extra minutes to shine as they hit 3-of-4 in the overtime period alone for 75 percent accuracy. Unfortunately, Weber State found the arc a comfortable spot as they hit 45.5 percent during the second period (5-of-11) and 66.7 percent in overtime (2-of-3).
Weber State's Caitlin Anderson hit a three to boost the Wildcats to a five point lead at the start of overtime. Anderson posted the only Wildcat double-double with 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Sarah Conner led the Wildcats as she also posted a career-high 24 points matching Brown's effort. Conner put the Wildcats up by four twice, the first time from a three pointer with 24 seconds remaining at 77-73, then again on a free throw shot with 14 seconds remaining to improve the scoreboard in Wildcat favor 78-74.
Brown who wasn't about to give up hit a buzzer beater three in the final second of overtime nearly 10 feet off the right wing arc to reduce the Wildcat victory to a one point difference at 78-77. Bengal Michelle Grohs helped ISU throughout the competition as she nearly posted a double-double scoring 16 points and eight rebounds. She also had two blocked shots.
Idaho State will have a week to prepare before hosting Northern Colorado at Reed Gym on Saturday, February 7 at 2:05 p.m. The Bengals look to repeat their previous series victory over the Bears, a 60-55 win in Greeley.
Notes: Each period of the competition saw a single digit difference in the score posted as Weber State outscored ISU 28-27 in the first period, responded by ISU outscoring the Wildcats 36-35 in the second period and Weber State claiming the victory with a 15-14 point difference in overtime ... Brown is the first Bengal to see 45 minutes of action this season ... The Bengals outscored Weber State in the paint 36-18 ... The Wildcats outrebounded ISU 49-46 scoring 13 points from second chances while ISU recorded seven points ... Idaho State recorded a season-high home attendance of 1,083.
