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BENGALS IN ACTION THIS WEEK
Idaho State (0-2) plays its home season opener Saturday, Nov. 17 against Air Force (0-2). The game begins at 12 p.m. in Reed Gym.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL BASKETBALL
Last week, Idaho State faced Kansas State and No. 25 Kansas on the road. The Bengals had a strong defensive effort in both contests. The Bengals held Kansas to a 30.8 shot percentage. Senior forward
Ashleigh Vella led ISU in both contests. Vella averaged 11 points and eight rebounds over the weekend.
BENGALS RANKED IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Idaho State is ranked No. 21 in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll. ISU finished the 2011-12 season at No. 22. Idaho State is the only Big Sky school ranked or receiving votes. Delaware (Colonial Conference) is No. 1 with 30 first-place votes. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Conference champion Idaho State clinched the top seed in the conerence and hosted the 2012 Big Sky Tournament sponsored by Idaho Central Credit Union. It was the third time Idaho State had hosted the tournament and the first time since 2006. Idaho State won the tournament, earning the program's third tournament title after also winning it in 2001 and 2007. It was the fourth straight time ISU has qualified for the conference tournament under ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski and the ninth straight year overall, a program record. ISU defeated Northern Colorado 49-46 in the tournament final.
TRIP TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
After winning the regular-season title and Big Sky Tournament crown, Idaho State made its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2007. It was ISU's third program appearance at the Big Dance. The No. 14 seeded Idaho State Bengals faced No. 3 Miami (FL) Saturday, March 17 in Spokane, Wash. ISU lost the match-up 70-41.
ISU RETURNS SEVERAL KEY PLAYERS TO SQUAD
Idaho State returns all but one of its starters from last season's championship squad. Head coach
Seton Sobolewski will look to senior guard
Kaela Oakes, senior forward
Ashleigh Vella and junior guard
Lindsey Reed to lead his team offensively while junior forward
Cydney Horton will play a pivotal role on defense as she was ISU's top rebounder and shot blocker last season.
Many other returners for Idaho State saw substantial playing time last season, including junior guard
Kara Jenkins, senior forward
Jessa Jeppesen, sophomore guard
Blaire Brady, junior guard
Sheryl Bitter and senior forward
Taylor Floyd.
ISU NEWCOMERS
The Bengals welcome two new players to the team this year,
Alissa Willard and
Anna Lee Policicchio. Willard is a 5-11 junior guard from Roy, Utah who transferred from Western Wyoming Community College. Policicchio is a 6-2 freshman forward from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
In her second season with the Mustangs, Willard led the team in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game and tallying 467 total points in 29 games. She also led the team in rebounds, pulling down 245 total boards for an average of 8.44 per game. She was named All-Region First Team and was a Top Five All-American nominee.
During her tenure at St. Mary's College, Policicchio was named team MVP during the 2009 season and again during the 2010 campaign. She was nominated for all-city MVP in 2010. She was named to all-tournament teams for the 11th Annual Keswick Christian Girls Varsity Suncoast Classic (2009) and MGBR Ann Arbour (2010). She was a nominee for the referee award in both the 2010 and 2011 campaigns. She was named most improved for the Titan Club basketball team in 2010 and earned MVP at the Cougar Classic Tournament the same season. In the ninth grade, she was named St. Mary's College's Female Athlete of the Year.
BENGALS TOP PRESEASON POLLS
The Idaho State women's basketball team has been selected to defend its Big Sky Conference title in both the coaches and media polls. The Bengals finished with 97 points and eight first-place votes in the coaches poll while the team earned 154 total points with eight first-place votes in the media poll.
ISU PREPS FOR ANOTHER CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The 2012-13 non-conference line-up looks to be one of the more challenging seasons for Sobolewski and the Bengals with competitors like Kansas State, Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona State as well as just three official home games in the preseason.
OAKES NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior guard
Kaela Oakes has been selected as a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award. Oakes is one of 30 candidates selected and is the second straight ISU women's basketball player to earn the honor after
Chelsea Pickering was selected as a candidate last season.
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.
Last season, Oakes helped lead Idaho State to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. Oakes averaged 11.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. She was selected Big Sky All-Conference First Team, was named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team and named team MVP.
IDAHO STATE IN HOME SEASON OPENERS
Idaho State is 24-14 in home season openers and won nine straight from the 1981-82 season through the 1989-90 season. ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski is 3-1 in home season openers. He has defeated Montana Western (2008-09), Air Force (2010-11) and Boise State (2011-12). He lost to Boise State during the 2009-10 season. This is the second time ISU has opened the season at home against Air Force. The last time ISU opened at home against the Falcons was during the 2010-11 season. ISU won the contest 68-58.
ABOUT AIR FORCE
Air Force is 0-2 on the season after dropping contests to Northern Colorado and Longwood. The Falcons dropped their season opener to the Bears 68-44 on November 9. The Falcons lost to Longwood 68-63 on November 12. Alicia Leipprandt leads in scoring for Air Force, averaging 16.0 points per game. Dymond James leads Air Force in rebounds averaging 8.0 per contest. Overall, the Falcons are averaging 53.5 points and 39.5 rebounds per game.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE FALCONS
Idaho State leads the series between the two programs 3-0. The Bengals won the last contest 68-58 on Nov. 18, 2010. The Bengals are 2-0 against Air Force in Pocatello. Idaho State won the first contest on Nov. 23, 1996 74-50 and the second contest on Dec. 6, 1997 79-58. Sobolewski is 1-0 against the Falcons.
We Are Your Bengals
