MATCH NOTES | AUDIO
BENGALS IN ACTION THIS WEEK
Idaho State (2-2) travels to Cancun, Mexico this week to participate in the 2011 Cancun Challenge where the team will face two traditionally strong programs. Idaho State faces Chattanooga (2-1) in the first game Thanksgiving morning at 9 a.m. MST. The Bengals then face Tulane (4-0) Friday, Nov. 25 at 10 a.m. MST. 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.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL BASKETBALL
Idaho State (2-2) won its home opener against cross-state rival Boise State 84-75 on Thursday. The win marked the first victory against the Broncos in eight years. Junior forward
Jessa Jeppesen led Idaho State with 29 points and 10 rebounds, recording her first career double-double. On Saturday, Idaho State traveled to Orem, Utah to kick off a six-game road stretch starting with Utah Valley. ISU lost to the Wolverines 68-59. Jeppesen led ISU in her second straight game, recording 17 points and nine rebounds.
SOBOLEWSKI, LIPTAK REACH CENTENNIAL MARK
Idaho State Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski will coach his 100th game at the helm of the ISU women's basketball program on Tuesday, Dec. 6 against Utah. Sobolewsi sports a 46-49 all-time record with ISU and recorded his first winning season after just three seasons as head coach during the 2010-11 campaign. He has led the Bengals to back-to-back winning conference records in both 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Mark Liptak, the Bengals' play-by-play announcer will also notch his 100th broadcast during the game against Utah. As always, ISU fans will be able to listen to the milestone broadcast by tuning into 91.1 FM KISU or by following the audio streaming link at
www.isubengals.com.
JEPPESEN MAKING MAJOR IMPACT IN FIRST SEASON WITH ISU
Junior forward
Jessa Jeppesen has made a major impact in just her first four games as a Bengal. She has been named College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week for her performances against Boise State and Utah Valley. Against BSU, Jeppesen recorded 29 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double as a Bengal. She then scored a team high 17 points and nine rebounds against UVU to lead the Bengals for the second straight game of the season. Jeppesen was also selected as the Bengal Athlete of the Week for games played the week of Oct. 31 through Nov. 6. after leading 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.
Jeppesen is currently ranked second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage. In four games, Jeppesen has shot 21 of 36 for a .583 shooting percentage. Jeppesen is ranked sixth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. Jeppesen is also ranked eighth in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per contest.
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.
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 in the 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.
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA
Chattanooga posts a 2-1 record for the season. Kayla Christopher leads the Lady Mocs in points with 33 for the season so far while Taylor Hall is the top rebounder for Chattanooga as she has pulled down a total of 27 in three games, averaging 9.0 rebounds per contest. Tenisha Townsend poses a threat from beyond the arc hitting 7-12 this season for a .58 three-point percentage. The Lady Mocs have defeated UAB (65-59) and Indiana State (75-54) this season and are on a one-game winning streak. Last season the Lady Mocs recorded a 17-14, 13-7 SoCon record. The program boasts 10 NCAA and four WNIT appearances as well as 17 Southern Conference Titles. Head coach Wes Moore is in his 14th season with UTC and is a five-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year as well as the winningest coach in Chattanooga and Southern Conference history. Chattanooga's lone loss of the season was to No. 1 Baylor (31-91) in the preseason WNIT. This will be the first meeting between ISU and UTC.
ABOUT TULANE
Tulane posts a 4-0 record for the season. Danielle Blagg leads the Green Wave in points with 59 for the season so far while Brett Benzio is the top rebounder for Tulane as she has pulled down a total of 40 in four games, averaging 10.0 rebounds per contest. Jamie Kaplan leads from beyond the arc hitting 7-15 this season for a .467 three-point percentage. The Green Wave has defeated Loyola-New Orleans (74-49), Louisiana-Monroe (62-45) and then No. 20 Louisiana State 65-62 in ovetime this season. The team is on a four-game winning streak. Last season, Tulane recorded a 23-11, 9-7 Conference USA record The program boasts 10 NCAA and three WNIT appearances as well as four regular season Conference USA Titles and five conference tournament titles. Head coach Lisa Stockton is in her18th season at Tulane with a record of 349-173. This will be the first meeting between ISU and Tulane.
