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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State Bengals defeated Weber State 65-53 Saturday in Reed Gym to improve their Big Sky Conference record to 12-1 and giving them their 20th win of the season, 20-6 overall. It is the fourth time in school history that the Bengals have reached the 20-win mark and is tied for the second most wins in a single season in program history.
“It was a great group effort to reach that mark,” ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. “The girls have really bought in and played hard. We don't have the most talent and we don't have the biggest players, but we have some of the hardest workers, I think.”
ISU had four score in double digits Saturday afternoon led by senior guard
Chelsea Pickering who tallied 17 points, shooting 4-for-13 from the field and 3-for-8 from the 3-point line. She also led the team in assists, facilitating four baskets for her teammates. Junior forward
Ashleigh Vella and junior guard
Kaela Oakes each added 13 points to the total. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed chipped in with 12.
“It's nice to know that when someone is having a slow night offensively that someone can pick up the slack,” Sobolewski said. “We share the ball well, we move the ball well and we try to get the best shot for the team.”
Vella gathered her 500th career rebound, recording six in the afternoon.
“Ashleigh has meant a whole lot to this program,” Sobolewski said. “She's really bought in and she's such a hard worker. She's a great student and an aspiring coach herself so she thinks about basketball at a different level and she's just a very important piece of our team.”
Sophomore forward
Cydney Horton led the Bengals in rebounds with nine. Reed followed with eight. Horton also recorded a game-high three blocks.
The Bengals shot 22-for-59 from the field at 37.3 percent and shot 7-for-18 from the 3-point line. From the free-throw line, ISU was 14-for-16, shooting 87.5 percent.
ISU gathered 41 rebounds against Weber State's 38. The Bengals were able to hold onto the ball better than Weber State, turning the ball over just nine times while Weber State committed 16. ISU had nine steals to Weber State's one.
“I think we helped out on defense well and got out on the right people,” Sobolewski said. “I felt like we played good team defense. We helped one another, we doubled the post, we got out on their shooters and it was a very good defensive effort.”
The only time the Bengals trailed in the game was after Weber State's first made 3-point shot of the game. ISU would then take the lead and never look back, leading by as much as 17 in the game.
The Bengals next travel to Sacramento State (5-9 BSC, 10-17) on Thursday, Feb 23 (6:05 p.m. MST). ISU then faces Eastern Washington in back-to-back matchups to end the season in two highly anticipated games. The first contest takes place in Cheney, Wash. on Feb 25 (3:05 p.m. MST). The Bengals then return to Pocatello for the home finale on March 3 (2:05 p.m. MST).
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