GAME NOTES | AUDIO | LIVE STATS
BENGALS IN ACTION THIS WEEK
Idaho State (1-1) hosts in-state rival Boise State (2-0) in its home opener Thursday at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym. The Bengals then return to the road for the first of six straight road games against Utah Valley Saturday at 3 p.m. at the UCCU Center. Fans can listen in to both games by tuning into 91.1 FM KISU or clicking on the audio streaming link at
www.isubengals.com. Videostreaming and live stats for the UVU game can be accessed at
www.wolverinegreen.com.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL BASKETBALL
Idaho State (1-1) split a pair of road games, falling 79-62 to UTEP on Saturday, despite an impressive first half showing. ISU defeated New Mexico State on Monday 59-42. Senior guard
Chelsea Pickering led ISU in the UTEP match-up with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed was the top scorer for the Begals against the Aggies of New Mexico State. Reed scored a game-high 23 points and notched six reounds and one block as well.
LAST SEASON RESULTS IN A NUTSHELL
The Bengals come off their 13th Big Sky Tournament appearance where Idaho State fell in the quarterfinals 66-53 to eventual tournament champion Montana. The tournament showing marked Idaho State's eighth consecutive showing, the longest streak in school history. Idaho State finished the 2010-11 season with an 18-12 overall record, the third most wins in a single season in program history. ISU also posted a 9-7 Big Sky record, good for the fifth seed in the conference tournament. Senior
Chelsea Pickering was named first-team all-conference while juniors
Kaela Oakes and
Ashleigh Vella earned all-conference honorable mention.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PLAYERS OF THE 2011-12 SEASON
Idaho State returns eight letterwinners to the team and five starters, including all four of the top scorers from last season. Idaho State is led by one senior,
Chelsea Pickering, who led the team last year in scoring. The team also features five juniors including 2011 all-conference honorable mention honorees
Kaela Oakes and
Ashleigh Vella. Pickering played and started in all 30 games last season. The Lumberton, Texas native averaged 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. Oakes averaged 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while Vella averaged 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds. Also returning is sophomore
Lindsey Reed who in her freshman year averaged 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds.
ISU also returns four players who made a considerable contribution off the bench last season. Sophomore
Kara Jenkins played in all 30 games, starting 15 while averaging 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore guards
Cydney Horton and
Sheryl Bitter both played in 28 games last season while sophomore forward Jessica Jensen appeared in 22 games.
Along with the returning players, Sobolewski and his staff welcome eight newcomers who will bring depth to the Bengals' core of experience.
PICKERING GRANTED FIFTH YEAR
This is Pickering's fifth and final season playing for Idaho State. Pickering was granted a fifth year by the NCAA due to an injury that prevented her from playing most of the 2007-08 season.
BENGALS SCORE 100 POINTS IN EXHIBITION
The Idaho State women's basketball team broke the triple digit barrier for the first time since the 2006-07 season Saturday in an exhibition match-up against Montana Western as the Bengals rolled past the Bulldogs 100-61.
The last time the Bengals scored 100 or more points was in back-to-back games against Montana Tech (102-59) on Dec. 16, 2006 and again against Montana Western (102-64) on Dec. 20, 2006. Junior transfer
Jessa Jeppesen, led ISU with 19 points. The 6-2 forward also pulled down six rebounds, four offensive rebounds and two defensive.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE ATHLETES
The 2011-12 women's basketball squad returns all three of last season's all-conference honorees. The three players named all-conference from the 2010-11 season include senior
Chelsea Pickering (First Team), junior
Kaela Oakes (Honorable Mention) and junior
Ashleigh Vella (Honorable Mention).
PICKERING NAMED LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior
Chelsea Pickering has been selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
The field of 60 (30 men and 30 women) will be narrowed to 10 men and 10 women candidates midway through the season. The award winner will be announced during the NCAA Final Four April 1-3.
JEPPESEN NAMED BENGAL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior forward
Jessa Jeppesen was selected as the Bengal Athlete of the Week for games played the week of Oct. 31 through Nov. 6. Jeppesen led the Bengals in ISU's exhibition game against Montana Western Saturday, Nov. 5 with 19 points. The 6-2 transfer from Western Wyoming Community College also pulled down six rebounds in the contest.
ABOUT BOISE STATE
Boise State posts a 2-0 record for the season. Kati Isham leads the Broncos in points with 32 points for the season so far while Nicole Brady is the top rebounder for BSU as she has pulled down a total of 24 in the last two games. Diana Lee leads from beyond the arc hitting 2-7 for a .286 three-point percentage. The Broncos have defeated Southern Oregon (93-55) and Weber State (86-68) this season and are on a two-game winning streak.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE BRONCOS
This is the 61st meeting between the two rival schools. Boise State leads the series 42-18. BSU and ISU met last season on Nov. 14 in Boise. The Broncos routed the Bengals 73-48 in the match-up.
Lindsey Reed lead the Bengals with 14 points.
Cydney Horton chipped in nine points, all in the second half.
ABOUT UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley posts a 0-1 record for the season. With only one game under their belts, Jenna Johnson leads the Wolverines with 14 points while Erika Newbold and Kim Bell are leading in the rebound department with both nabbing eight in UVU's 75-43 loss to Long Beach State. Bell also leads UVU in steals with three.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE WOLVERINES
This is the eighth meeting between Utah Valley and ISU. ISU leads the series 4-3. ISU and UVU last met last season on Dec. 4 in Pocatello. The Bengals won the contest 68-56. four players scored in double figures.
Chelsea Pickering scored a game-high 20 points in 19 minutes on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and five steals.
Ashleigh Vella and
Lindsey Reed each had 15 points while
Kaela Oakes had 12 points. Reed had a team-best eight rebounds while Oakes also had five steals.
"We Are Your Bengals"
