Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State women's basketball (6-5) played a tight game against Pac-12 foe Arizona State Sunday. ISU trailed the Sun Devils 31-20 at the half but the Bengals made a comeback in the second half to tie the contest with 3:30 remaining in the game before a late ASU run put the Sun Devils back on top for a 60-53 final.
The Sun Devils, who made their 13
th consecutive postseason appearance last season, were led by Promise Amukamara with 15 points. ASU improves to 8-4 on the season under 16-year head coach Charli Turner Thorne, the winningest coach in ASU history and No. 3 in the Pac-12 for career wins.
“We got off to a rough start in the first half but I was very proud of our effort in the second half,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “We put ourselves in a position to win and that's all you can ask for but the first-half deficit hurt us. It was a great game to wrap up nonconference play and prepare us for conference next week.”
Senior forward
Ashleigh Vella led the Bengals with 15 points in the contest. Vella also posted two rebounds and an assist.
Senior forward
Jessa Jeppesen was a big part of ISU's second half comeback as she scored all 10 of her points in the second half. Jeppesen added five rebounds and one block.
Senior guard
Abyee Maracigan continued to be a big contributor for ISU off the bench as she neared a double-double with eight rebounds and nine points against the Sun Devils. She also recorded one block and a steal in 24 minutes of play.
Kaela Oakes also had a solid performance against ASU as the senior guard posted nine points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Idaho State shot just 26.1 percent in the first half while the Sun Devils hit 11-of-22 for a 50 percent shooting percentage. Despite struggling offensively in the first 20 minutes of play, the Bengals only trailed ASU by 11 points.
Idaho State's offense improved in the second half as the Bengals shot 40.9 percent from the field and held Arizona State to 43.5 percent shooting. ISU outscored ASU in the half 33-29.
The Bengals' defense forced 18 ASU turnovers and the Bengals scored 15 points off those turnovers. ISU posted 18 points in the paint, seven second-chance points and the Bengal bench added 19 points to ISU's bottom line.
Sunday's contest marked the final non-conference match-up of the season for ISU as the Bengals prepare for the first conference road trip of the season. The Bengals next face North Dakota Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. before taking on 2012 Big Sky Tournament runner-up Northern Colorado Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.
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