Box Score
OGDEN, Utah – It was a tale of two halves Saturday afternoon as Idaho State narrowly defeated Weber State (2-19, 0-8 BSC) at the Dee Events Center 54-52. Idaho State outscored the Wildcats 37-19 in the first half but when ISU struggled offensively in the second half, WSU worked itself back into the game and took the lead with 6:29 remaining.
ISU, however, would not be deterred and fought back to tie the game at 52-52 with 16 seconds left. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed then capitalized on a WSU turnover and hit a game-winning layup with 11 seconds left to seal the victory for ISU.
“We ran a baseline out-of-bounds play,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “It was one our out-of-bounds plays that lately Lindsey has been able to get open on off the roll when people switch. Lindsey set a screen and two people went off with the cutters which had Lindsey rolling to the basket and open for the shot. It was a good finish by Lindsey.”
The Bengals improve to 16-5 and remain undefeated in Big Sky action with an 8-0 record. The Bengals have now won nine straight games with today's victory over Weber State.
Senior guard
Chelsea Pickering led Idaho State with 12 points in the contest. Junior guard
Kaela Oakes and Reed also scored in double digits with each chipping in 10. Sophomore forward
Cydney Horton led the rebound effort with eight on the afternoon.
Overall, Idaho State shot 33.9 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from the arc and just 58.8 percent from the line. Weber State shot 37.8 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from the trey and 73.7 percent from the free throw line. ISU outrebounded WSU 38-34 and nabbed 15 offensive rebounds. ISU's staple defense produced 17 Wildcat turnovers, including a key turnover in the final seconds of the game that helped turn possession back over to the Bengals leading to Reed's game-winning layup. ISU also recorded eight steals and one block.
Idaho State took control of the game in the first half as ISU shot 46.4 percent from the field and hit four three-pointers. The Wildcats scored eight of their 19 first-half points from the free-throw line as the Wildcats hit just one three-point shot in the half and went 5-of-22 from the field in the half.
The second half was a completely different story as the stats were practically flip-flopped. The Wildcats opened with a 25-7 run to take the lead with 6:29 remaining in the game. WSU shot 52.2 percent from the field and went 3-for-3 from the arc in the half while ISU shot 22.6 percent from the field and 0-of-10 from three-point range. Once again, it was Idaho State's defense that kept the Bengals in the game.
“You just have to stay confident, not get frantic and really lean on your defense,” Sobolewski said. “I think with eight minutes left in the half we had only made two field goals. That was my fear going in at half time. I was scared that we would do the same thing that we did at Northern Colorado in the second half and not perform as well offensively in the second half as we did in the first. At the same time, our defense was good enough to win the game and that's what really makes me happy. When things don't go right, we are still finding a way to win.”
Up next for the Bengals is a pivotal home stand against Montana and Montana State. ISU hosts Montana State Thursday, Feb. 2 and Montana Monday, Feb. 6. Both games will be held in Reed Gym and begin at 7 p.m. The Bengals swept Montana and Montana State on the road earlier this season in the first road sweep of the two schools since 2000-01 and just the second in program history.
We Are Your Bengals
