Box Score
LINCOLN, Neb. – Idaho State (3-3) put up a fight against No. 19/21 Nebraska (6-2) Saturday afternoon as Idaho State fell to the Huskers 61-50 in Lincoln, Neb. The game featured two lead changes and the score was tied four times. Junior guard
Lindsey Reed led ISU with 16 points and added six rebounds and two blocks in the contest. She shot 5-12 from the field and posted three 3-point field goals.
“This team has really bought into the idea of not just playing these teams close but playing these teams from bigger schools and trying to beat them,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “They are constantly analyzing, just like the coaches are, on what they need to do to get better and to what they need to do to get over that hump.”
Nebraska jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game before Idaho State went on an 11-0 run to take the lead at the 13:26 mark in the first half. Nebraska tied the game at 11-11 with 9:34 remaining, beginning a back and forth battle between the two squads.
ISU got into a little bit of foul trouble in the first half committing 15 to Nebraska's nine, sending the Huskers to the line for 20 free throws attempts. However, ISU hung with Nebraska throughout the half, never trailing by more than four points from the 9:34 mark to the 1:11 mark.
With a little more than a minute left in the first half,
Lindsey Reed tied the game at 23 but Jordan Hooper, Nebraska's Player of the Year candidate, scored eight points in under a minute to put Nebraska up 31-23 at the half.
Idaho State battled hard again in the second half and ISU came to within three with 14:43 left in the game and the Bengals stayed right with Nebraska until an 11-0 Husker run gave UN the breathing room it needed to close out the game.
Nebraska's size and strength on the boards would ultimately carry the squad past ISU. Nebraska out-rebounded ISU 43-33 and had 18 offensive rebounds that the squad converted into 15 second-chance points.
This is the second Top 25 ranked team Idaho State has faced this season and the Bengals have put up strong defensive efforts against both teams. The Bengals held Nebraska to 60 points, 10 points below the team's scoring average. The Huskers shot just 37.7 percent from the field and 11.8 percent from 3-point range.
“We've really battled with the big schools this season,” Sobolewski said. “We had an eight-point game against Kansas State and a nine-point game against Nebraska. We played exceptional defense against Kansas and held them to 30 percent shooting. We have played hard and played well, I think it just one have been nice to get a win against one of those big schools. I'm very proud of our effort and I really like the direction that we are going.”
Junior forward
Cydney Horton came close to posting her third double-double of the season with 11 points and eight rebounds while senior guard
Abyee Maracigan had a strong game off the bench, chipping in eight points and five rebounds for the Bengals.
“This was a big game for Abyee,” Sobolewski said. “We need that guard off the bench to step up and be a good sub, someone that can be the spark to produce more offense. We have players like Abyee, Becca and some other players that have the ability to do that, it's just a matter of mentally flipping the switch to turn into that type of player that they have the talent to be. I thought this was a very important game in terms of Abyee flipping the switch. You could tell she flipped the switch tonight. She was out there competing with Nebraska. I didn't feel like she was overwhelmed or flustered. If that's all we got out of this game is Abyee becoming that player that can step up for us, that's huge.”
Idaho State returns home to Reed Gym for a four-game stretch in the upcoming weeks. ISU plays two more non-conference match-ups before starting league action later this month. Next up for the Bengals is Utah Valley on Saturday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is at 2:05 p.m. at Reed Gym.
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