Box Score
GREELEY, Colo. – Idaho State women's basketball picked up a big road game Thursday night as the Bengals rolled past Northern Colorado (12-9, 4-4 BSC) in a 64-50 decision in Greeley, Colo. ISU improves to 15-5 overall and remains perfect in Big Sky play with a 7-0 record. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed flirted with a double-double as she led the Bengals with 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Reed also recorded three assists and two steals.
“Lindsey came out and helped pace us early,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “She and Chelsea [Pickering] hit some key shots and they just did a great job in the first half of helping us get the momentum going in our direction.”
Senior guard
Chelsea Pickering also scored in double digits in tonight's contest, picking up 14. Pickering's 14 points puts her at a career total of 1,061 points, making her the ninth highest scoring player in program history.
Junior forward
Ashleigh Vella was also a major contributor for the Bengals as she tabbed 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Sophomore forward
Cydney Horton led the rebound effort for ISU with 10. Horton also recorded one assist, one block and two steals.
Overall, ISU dominated the Bears on the boards as the Bengals outrebounded NC 43-27. Northern Colorado only pulled down five offensive rebounds while ISU recorded 18, resulting in 15 second chance points. The Bengals defense remained a staple for the team tonight as ISU forced 21 turnovers and recorded seven steals and four blocks.
The Bengals jumped out in the first half, hitting four three-point shots in the first nine minutes. ISU opened up a 20-point lead with 2:17 remaining in the half thanks to a three-point shot from freshman
Blaire Brady who came off the bench for ISU to help in the point guard position. ISU went into the locker room at the half up 36-19.
Northern Colorado tried to make a comeback in the second half as ISU struggled from the floor hitting just 6-of-23 from the field for a 26.1 shooting percentage. With 11:40 remaining in the game, the Bears cut ISU's lead to four but that would be as close as they would get as the Bengals answered with a 9-2 run to put ISU up 11 with 7:50 left in the game.
“We called a timeout to try to slow down Northern Colorado's momentum and to give ourselves a quick rest so we could reset on defense,” Sobolewski said. “I told them that we needed to defend better. I told them that as long as we played harder and to stayed positive that even if they got the lead, we would get it back. We just needed to stay positive and confident.”
With under six minutes to go, Pickering and junior guard
Kaela Oakes hit two big three-point shots to help extend a 13-point lead. The Bears then sent the Bengals to the line with under two minutes left where ISU demonstrated its strength in pressure free throws as Oakes went two-for-two and Reed hit three-for-three.
Idaho State travels next to Ogden, Utah to face Weber State Saturday, Jan. 28. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m. After dropping a, 83-68 decision to Sacramento State tonight, WSU is now 0-7 in Big Sky play and 2-18 overall.
We Are Your Bengals
