Box Score BOX SCORE | FINAL STATS
EL PASO, Texas – Idaho State (0-1) fell 79-63 to UTEP (1-0) in its 2011-12 season opener Saturday at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. Senior guard
Chelsea Pickering led the Bengals with a game-high 20 points and was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Pickering, a last-minute starter after tweaking her ankle in practice the night before, went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line and 5-12 from the field. She also chipped in three assists and one steal.
“Chelsea's play tonight shows a lot of toughness on her part,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “As a senior, she doesn't want to miss games and she really pushed through it and did a nice job.”
Sophomore forward
Cydney Horton also scored in the double-digits for the Bengals with a career-high 17 points. The 6-1, Aurora, Colo., native also posted six rebounds, an assist and one block in 27 minutes of play.
“Cydney is really developing in a nice post presence for us,” Sobolewski said. “She can rebound and score at the low post and is going to be a good player for us in the future.”
Junior
Ashleigh Vella chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block despite getting into a bit of foul trouble early in the second half.
As a team, Idaho State shot 30.8 percent from the field during the game and an outstanding 84.6 percent from the free throw line. The team beat UTEP on the boards recording 45 total rebounds to UTEP's 38.
ISU dominated the Miners in the first half, heading into the locker room with a 35-26 lead. ISU shot an impressive 46.2 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and out-rebounded UTEP 26-13. Pickering led ISU at the half with 12 points, followed closely by Horton with 11. The Bengals held UTEP to a 31.3 percent shooting average in the first half and forced 10 turnovers.
“In the first half, we had some really great hustle plays, we got on the floor and got some offensive rebounds,” Sobolewski said. “In the second half, UTEP sped things up and played harder. They took some of those play opportunities away from us and made some hustle plays of their own.”
In the second half, the ball began to bounce in the other direction as ISU struggled to get a shot to drop in their favor, shooting just 15.4 percent from the field. UTEP went on a 14-2 run in the beginning minutes of the second half to bring the score to 43-37 in favor of the Miners. Two made free throws by Horton brought ISU to within two at the 11:51 mark, but it wasn't quite enough as UTEP went on to extend the lead and win 79-63.
Idaho State returns to the court Monday, Nov. 14, with a match-up against the Aggies of New Mexico State (1-0) in Las Cruces, N.M. at the Pan American Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. MST.
"We Are Your Bengals"
