Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State women's basketball opened Big Sky Conference play with a win over visiting Portland State 63-50 Thursday night in Reed Gym. The Bengals improve to 6-3 overall, 1-0 in conference action. ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski remains a perfect 5-0 in Big Sky Conference season openers with the win.
Three Bengals scored in double digits during the contest, led by senior guard
Kaela Oakes with 16 points. Oakes shot 5-for-11 from the field and hit three shots from beyond the arc.
Junior guard
Lindsey Reed gave great contributions off the bench with 15 points and four assists. She led ISU at the half with 11 points.
“What's really interesting about Lindsey is that even though she hasn't felt 100 percent, she's been shooting really well in practice,” Sobolewski said. “Then she gets in the game and does in the game what she's been doing in practice.”
Senior forward
Ashleigh Vella added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds while junior forward
Cydney Horton had six points and a career-tying four blocks on the night.
As a team, the Bengals shot 48.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. ISU shot 82.4 percent from the free throw line, hitting 14 of their 17 attempts.
Though the Bengals were out-rebounded by Portland State 41-26, they were able to turn the Vikings' 23 turnovers into 23 points. Reed had four steals on the night while Vella and junior guard
Kara Jenkins each had three steals. The Bengals tallied a total of 11 steals in the contest. ISU's bench added 19 points compared to Portland State's six.
“We had some issues with turnovers and offensive rebounds and it's funny how much those areas can impact the outcome of a game,” Sobolewski said. “We are very fortunate to come out on top in this one. We shot it really well in the second half and for the game overall. We got some layups late in the game that really helped us.”
ISU got out to a slow start in the first half as Portland State jumped out to a seven-point lead before
Lindsey Reed scored seven quick points off the bench to get ISU back in the game. After Reed tied the game 11-11 with 12:31 remaining in the first half, Portland State would regain the lead once more before ISU took over offensively.
The Bengals opened a 10-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first half and would head into the locker room up 28-17.
In the second half, ISU led by as much as 19 points before a Portland State run midway through the half cut the lead to eight. ISU answered with seven straight points and finished the contest 63-50.
Idaho State plays its second Big Sky Conference game of the season against Eastern Washington Saturday, Dec. 22 at Reed Gym. The game begins at 12 p.m.
We Are Your Bengals
