Box Score
BOZEMAN, Mont. –Idaho State (10-5, 2-0 BSC) came back from a 16-point deficit Thursday night to defeat Montana State (9-6, 1-2 BSC) 59-58 in Worthington Arena. Junior guard
Kaela Oakes led Idaho State with 18 points. Oakes knocked down four shots from beyond the arc and went 6-15 from the field. Oakes also posted two rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“This was an amazing college basketball game,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “There was so much drama in it. We weren't making shots and started off so slow offensively and despite that we stayed in it.
Kaela Oakes,
Lindsey Reed and
Chelsea Pickering hit some shots and
Jessa Jeppesen came up with some big boards and we caught some breaks. It shows that when you work hard and do the right things, good things happen.”
Two other Bengals scored in double digits against the Bobcats. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed and senior guard
Chelsea Pickering both scored 14. Pickering is now just five points away from scoring 1,000 career points after her performance tonight. Pickering and junior forward
Jessa Jeppesen led Idaho State with nine rebounds apiece.
Overall, ISU shot 33.3 percent from the field, but were saved mostly in part to a 37.5 three-point shooting percentage. The Bengals shot just 50 percent (8-16) from the free throw line. ISU and Montana State tied with total team rebounds at 48. ISU's defense worked in the Bengals' favor, forcing 13 MSU turnovers and producing eight steals and two blocks. Idaho State held MSU to just a 31.4 shooting percentage and 23.8 percent from the trey.
In the first half, ISU was down by as many as 16 before going on a 10-1 run with 2:42 remaining in the half to go into the locker room down by just seven points at 33-26. Oakes led the Bengals in the half with eight points. Oakes hit a long three early in the half to break a 12-0 MSU run and then hit another to bring the score to 16-10. Pickering also hit two three-point shots in the half.
“We had a media timeout around the 3:00 mark and we set a goal to try to hold them to 30 or fewer and to try to score at least 20 so we could go in at the half down 10,” Sobolewski said. “We scored a little bit better than I thought we would and I think that we finally relaxed. At first, we came out really tight and had some really quick turnovers and I think that in the last part of the first half we finally started playing our game.”
In the second half, the Bengals still struggled to connect with shots and at the 12:53 mark a jumper by Katie Bussey opened up a 14-point lead for the Bobcats. However, the Bengals were not done fighting as ISU began an 8-0 run at the 8:23 mark to bring ISU to within four at 49-45. The Bobcats quickly scored to put the score at 51-45 but Oakes answered with a bucket of her own to bring ISU back to within four. MSU's Rachel Semansky answered with another shot but then fouled sending junior forward
Ashleigh Vella to the line with 4:16 remaining.
Vella connected with both shots and then Pickering hit a three-point shot on the next possession to make it a one-point game. MSU scored again but Reed hit a three-point shot to tie it at 55. A layup by Pickering with 2:24 remaining would give ISU its first lead of the game. Oakes hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game and while MSU hit a long three with 12 seconds remaining, they could not get another shot to drop, giving ISU the win 59-58.
“We definitely saw some growth and maturity in this team tonight,” Sobolewski said. “I told the team in the locker room that some of our teams in the past have gone down 12-14 points and have gotten very discouraged and made things worse and gave up on the offense. We didn't do that tonight. We stayed in it, stayed focused and continued to play.”
The Bengals will face Montana Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. in Missoula, Mont. Idaho State will look to break a nine-game losing streak to the Griz and a third straight conference win. Idaho State last defeated Montana 90-77 on Jan. 17, 2008 in Pocatello.
We Are Your Bengals
