Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State women's basketball team (9-5) fought their way to a 57-52 win over Northern Colorado on Monday night at Reed Gym. In the first conference game of the season, the Bengals had three players in double figures with junior
Ashleigh Vella leading the way. Vella flirted with a double-double, recording 17 points and nine rebounds.
Junior
Kaela Oakes recorded 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior
Chelsea Pickering finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore
Lindsey Reed also had an impressive performance with eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.
Sophomore
Kara Jenkins also made a major impact for ISU as she hit a pivotal three-point shot for the Bengals with 2:41 remaining in the second half to put ISU up 48-43, giving the Bengals some breathing room to extend out the 57-52 win. Jenkins picked up five total points, four rebounds and one block in the contest.
“Kara's numbers never reflect what she does for this team,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “There are some things that players can do like deflecting shots, being in the right spot at the right time, helping out on defense and playing out of position aren't reflected on stat sheets but make a major impact in the game.”
Both teams struggled with shooting as ISU finished with a shooting percentage of 30.2 and Northern Colorado finished with 29.3. It was ISU's defense that kept the Bengals in the game as Idaho State forced 17 turnovers and recorded nine team blocks during the game.
“We have been emphasizing defense all year,” Sobolewski said. “To take a lesson from Montana, they weren't always the best offensive team but they could just defend like crazy and find a way to beat you with their defense. We are going to use our defense as our staple and keep developing on offense.”
The game was a back and forth battle with a total of nine ties and seven lead changes. Both teams were even in the paint with 20 points each and only differed marginally in second chance and bench points. Free throws proved to be an important factor in the outcome as the Bengals made 21 of 29 while the Bears made only 16 of 23.
The Bengals will go on the road for their next two contests at Montana State on January 5 and Montana on January 7. They will return home on January 14 to face Sacramento State at 2:05 p.m. in Reed Gym.
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