GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | AUDIO | VIDEO
BENGALS IN ACTION THIS WEEK
Idaho State women's basketball (7-7, 2-3 BSC) travel to Ogden, Utah for a contest against Weber State (0-14, 0-5 BSC) Monday as the Bengals begin a three-game week. ISU faces the Wildcats Monday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. before taking on Sacramento State and Northern Arizona on the road Thursday and Saturday respectively.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL BASKETBALL
Last week, Idaho State snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Big Sky Conference newcomer Southern Utah. The Bengals defeated the Thunderbirds 80-71 and were led by senior guard
Abyee Maracigan who recorded her first career double-double with a career high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Maracigan was on fire in the first 20 minutes of action, fueling a big first half for the Bengals as the 5-9 guard notched 13 points in the first nine minutes of competition. Between the efforts of Maracigan and senior forward
Jessa Jeppesen, who posted all 12 of her points in the first half, ISU jumped out to a demanding 41-18 lead at the half.
Junior guard
Lindsey Reed, Jeppesen and senior forward
Ashleigh Vella also recorded double-figure scoring performances during the evening. Vella posted 16 points and five rebounds while Jeppesen netted 12 points and six rebounds. Reed tallied 11 points with two rebounds and four steals.
ABOUT THE BENGALS
Idaho State is 7-7 on the season and 2-3 in Big Sky play. Junior guard
Lindsey Reed leads ISU with 12.2 points per game. Forward
Ashleigh Vella is close to averaging a double-double with 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Bengals are shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from 3-point range. ISU is averaging 62.1 points per game and allowing just 57.6 points from opponents.
ISU is leading the conference in free throw percentage (73.0) and is second in turnover margin (+2.71).
The Bengals are ranked 48th nationally in blocks per game (4.6), 60th in free throw percentage (73.0), 76th in turnover margin (2.71), 86th in scoring defense (57.6) and 93rd in turnovers per game (16.2). Junior forward
Cydney Horton is 63rd individually in blocks per game (1.71).
MULTIMEDIA INFORMATION
Fans can listen to game action at 91.1 KISU or on-line via web-streaming audio at
www.isubengals.com with play-by-play action provided by
Mark Liptak. Live stats for the contest are available at
www.weberstatesports.com. Score updates will also be available through ISU's social media outlets at Facebook and Twitter as well as in text message alerts. Both contests can be viewed on-line at
http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp.
THE MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
ISU has dropped out of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 but is still receiving votes. ISU's highest rating of the season was No. 21. Montana State is the only other Big Sky school ranked or receiving 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.
VELLA HITS 1,000TH POINT
Idaho State senior forward
Ashleigh Vella became the 15th player in ISU history to score 1,000 career points as she met the mark in ISU's 64-55 win over rival Boise State. Throughout her career, Vella has recorded 1,110 points, 638 total rebounds and has the fifth most made free throws in program history with 289. She played her 100th game as a Bengal against Carroll College on Dec. 14. She is the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career at ISU.
Vella is currently 10th in program history in career points (1,110), field goal percentage (44.3) and free throw percentage (74.9). She is eighth in career rebounds with 638.
SEASON DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Senior guard
Abyee Maracigan posted the first double-double of her career with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds against Southern Utah.
Junior forward
Cydney Horton recorded her second straight double-double of the 2012-13 season and the fifth of her career against Boise State. Against the Broncos, Horton tied her career best of 19 points and pulled down a personal best 13 rebounds. Against Air Force she posted a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Horton recorded three double-doubles during the 2011-12 season.
With five career double-doubles, Horton has the second most career double-doubles for current players behind senior forward
Ashleigh Vella who has seven. Senior
Jessa Jeppesen has one that she recorded last season and junior guard
Lindsey Reed has one she recorded during the 2010-11 season. Maracigan also has one recorded this season against SUU.
SOBOLEWSKI MOVING UP IN COACHING RECORDS
With a 75-62 career record, ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski has been at the helm of the ISU women's basketball team for 137 games, the fourth most in program history. He will pass Ardie McInelly and move into third place in his 140th game on Jan. 19 at Northern Arizona. McInelly coached 139 total games over her five-season career at ISU. Ahead of Sobolewski will be Jon Newlee (2002-07) with 175 games and Ted Anderson (1988-95) with 214 games.
With three more victories, Sobolewski will surpass McInelly and Anderson in career wins and will be the second most winningest coach in ISU program history behind Jon Newlee who had 93 wins in his six seasons with the Bengals.
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.
OAKES MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
With 951 career points, senior guard
Kaela Oakes is 49 points away from recording her 1,000th career point. If she meets the mark, Oakes would become the 16th player in program history to meet the achievement.
Oakes, who played her 100th game as a Bengal against Portland State on Dec. 20, currently has 261 total rebounds, 275 assists and 91 steals. For her career, she is shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range.
Oakes is currently seventh in program history in career free throw percentage (79.8) and is eighth in career 3-point field goals made (108) and assist to turnover ratio (1.21). She is also ninth in career assists with 275.
Oakes is currently leading the Big Sky Conference in free throw percentage (88.6) and fourth in assist to turnover ration (1.3).
BLOCK THAT SHOT
Junior forward
Cydney Horton is just five blocks away from recording her 100th career block. Horton would become the sixth ISU player in program history to reach the mark.
Horton is currently sixth in ISU history in career blocks as she has posted 95 so far in her career.
During the 2011-12 season, Horton posted the seventh most single-season blocks in program history as she tallied 47 in her sophomore campaign.
Horton currently has 24 blocks this season and is fifth in the conference, averaging 1.7 blocks per game.
MARACIGAN MAKING HER MARK
Senior guard
Abyee Maracigan has become a strong presence off the bench for Idaho State this season.
During the 2011-12 season, Maracigan appeared in just 10 contests and averaged 0.9 points and 0.8 reboubds per game.
This season, Maracigan has appeared in all 14 contests and started in two. She is averaging 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds for ISU and in a five-game stretch from the Utah Valley game through Arizona State, she averaged 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. Against Southern Utah (1/10) she posted her first career double-double with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
REED STEPPING UP
Junior guard
Lindsey Reed has become an offensive force for Idaho State this season.
Reed leads ISU, averaging 12.2 points per game and 13.4 points in conference contests. Last season, she averaged 10.7 points and 10.3 in Big Sky games.
With 425 career rebounds and 820 career points, Reed is well on her way to becoming the 13th player in ISU history to record 500 rebounds and 1,000 points.
ABOUT WEBER STATE
Weber State is 0-14 on the season and 0-9 in Big Sky action under second-year head coach Bethann Ord.
The Wildcats have lost 33 straight competitions stretching back to last season.
WSU's last victory was on Dec. 10, 2011 against CSU Bakersfield in a 85-72 decision.
Jalen Carpenter leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 8.4 points per game. Carpenter is also second in the Big Sky in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.2 per game.
Kalie Matthews leads WSU on the boards, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.
Weber State is third in the conference in steals, averaging 10.5 per contest. Regina Okoye leads the conference with 3.1 per game.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE WILDCATS
Weber State leads the series 42-31 between the two programs.
The Bengals have won three straight against the Wildcats with WSU's last win against ISU coming Feb. 24, 2011 in Ogden, Utah in a 66-61 overtime decision.
ISU won the last contest 65-53 in Pocatello on Feb. 18, 2012. It was ISU's 20th overall win for the 2011-12 campaign.
ISU had four score in double digits in the contest led by
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.
Ashleigh Vella and
Kaela Oakes each added 13 points to the total. Sophomore guard
Lindsey Reed chipped in with 12.
