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BENGALS IN ACTION THIS WEEK
Idaho State women's basketball (14-10, 9-6 BSC) is back at home for the first time since Feb. 2 and is preparing for conference rival Weber State (0-24, 0-15 BSC) this week. The Bengals take on the Wildcats Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL BASKETBALL
Idaho State split on the road with Big Sky foes Montana State and Montana. ISU defeated the Bobcats 65-46 in Bozeman behind a 13-point performance by junior guard
Lindsey Reed. ISU dropped a contest to league-leader Montana 61-49 despite a 22-point scoring performance by senior guard
Kaela Oakes. Junior guard
Cydney Horton recorded her third double-double of the season in the contest as well with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
ABOUT THE BENGALS
Idaho State is 14-10 on the season and 9-6 in Big Sky play. Senior forward
Ashleigh Vella leads the Bengals, averaging 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. In conference action, she leads ISU with12.5 points per contest. Junior forward
Cydney Horton also leads ISU with 6.2 rebounds per game while senior guard
Kaela Oakes is second in scoring with 11.1 points per contest and 12.3 points per conference match-up.
The Bengals are shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from 3-point range. ISU is averaging 60.4 points per game and allowing just 54.8 points from opponents.
ISU is second in the Big Sky in scoring margin (+5.7), free throw percentage (.734), field goal percentage defense (.357) and 3-point field goal percentage (.346).
The Bengals are ranked 35th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (34.6), 43rd in field goal percentage defense (35.7), 44th in scoring defense (54.8), 50th in free throw percentage (73.4), 73rd in turnovers per game (15.4), 69th in blocks per game (4.2) and 93rd in scoring margin (+5.7).
GAME PROMOTIONS
Thursday night's game is the White Out Weber game. Fans wearing white will receive a $2 general admission ticket.
As part of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Shoe Drive, fans can also bring a new or gently used pair of shoes to donate and receive a voucher for a half price ticket to ONE of the women's remaining home games: Feb. 28 against Northern Arizona or March 2 against Sacramento State.
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 contests are available at
www.isubengals.com. Score updates will also be available through ISU's social media outlets at Facebook and Twitter as well as in text message alerts. The contest can be viewed on-line at
www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp.
SETTING THE FIELD FOR BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP
Two Big Sky teams, Montana and Northern Colorado, have already clinched spots in the Big Sky Conference Championship.
Montana currently leads the conference with a 13-3 record and is closely followed by Northern Colorado with a 12-3 record.
Eastern Washington is third at 10-5 while Idaho State and Sacramento State are tied at fourth at 9-6. Montana State is sixth at 9-7.
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 1,246 points, 695 total rebounds and has the fourth most made free throws in program history with 334. 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 seventh in program history in career points (1,246) and career rebounds (695). She is 10th in field goal percentage (43.9) and blocks (71) and ninth in career steals (140) and free throw percentage (76.3). She is fourth in career games played with 116.
Her 3-point field goal percentage (42.4) is second in the Big Sky and ranks seventh all-time in ISU history for a single season. She is also fourth in the Big Sky this season in free throw percentage (80.2) and is 92nd in the nation is the same category.
SOBOLEWSKI MOVING UP IN COACHING RECORDS
With an 82-65 career record, ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski has been at the helm of the ISU women's basketball team for 147 games, the third most in program history. He passed Ardie McInelly and moved 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 is Jon Newlee (2002-07) with 175 games and Ted Anderson (1988-95) with 214 games.
Sobolewski has surpassed McInelly and Anderson in career wins (82) and has the second most wins for an ISU coach program history behind Jon Newlee who had 93 wins in his six seasons with the Bengals.
OAKES NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
Senior
Kaela Oakes was named one of 60 women's basketball players from around the country as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Oakes became the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her 20-point performance against Montana (1/24). Oakes now has 1,091 career points.
Oakes, who played her 100th game as a Bengal against Portland State on Dec. 20, currently has 292 total rebounds, 296 assists and 101 steals. For her career, she is shooting 37.4 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3-point range.
Oakes is currently seventh in program history in career free throw percentage (78.8) and fifth in 3-point field goals made (121). She is eighth in assist to turnover ratio (1.19). She is also ninth in career assists with 296 and eighth in career free throws with 260.
BLOCK THAT SHOT
Junior forward
Cydney Horton became the sixth player in ISU history to record 100 career blocks with her one block against Montana (1/24).
Horton is currently fifth in ISU history in career blocks with 112, surpassing Natalie Doma's 110 career blocks.
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 41 blocks this season and is fifth in the conference, averaging 1.7 blocks per game. She is 62nd in the nation in the same category.
REED STEPPING UP
Junior guard
Lindsey Reed has become an offensive force for Idaho State this season.
Reed averages 10.4 points per game and 9.9 points in conference contests.
With 471 career rebounds and 902 career points, Reed is well on her way to becoming the 13th player in ISU history to record 500 rebounds and 1,000 points.
SOBOLEWSKI CLOSING IN ON 50TH CONFERENCE WIN
ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski is one win away from recording his 50th career Big Sky game.
Sobolewski is 49-30 all-time in Big Sky play and has defeated every Big Sky team at least once.
50 conference wins is the third best all-time for any ISU head coach. Jon Newlee leads with 54 conference wins and is followed by Ardie McInelly with 53 wins.
ABOUT WEBER STATE
Weber State is 0-24 on the season and 0-15 in Big Sky play under second-year head coach Bethann Ord.
The Wildcats have lost 43 straight games stretching back to the 2011-12 season. The squad's last victory occurred on Dec. 10, 2011 against CSU Bakersfield in a 85-72 final.
Jalen Carpenter leads the Wildctas with 8.6 points per contest and is scoring 9.3 points per game in conference action.
Kalie Matthews is WSU's top rebounder, pulling down 7.2 per game and 6.4 per contest in Big Sky play.
WSU is wrapping up almost a month-long road trip at Idaho State. The Wildcats have not played at home since Feb. 2.
The Wildcats are fifth in the conference in steals, averaging 9.8 per contest. Regina Okoye leads the league in steals, averaging 2.9 per game.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE WILDCATS
Weber State leads the all-time series between the two programs 42-32.
WSU is 18-16 all-time in Pocatello.
The Bengals have won four straight against the Wildcats and the last time WSU won in Pocatello, Idaho was on Jan. 31, 2009 in a 78-77 overtime final.
Weber State's last win against the Bengals was on Feb. 24, 2011 in Ogden in a 66-61 overtime final.
The Bengals won the last contest 69-45 in Ogden, Utah on Jan. 14.
Senior guard
Kaela Oakes led the Bengals with 17 points. Oakes went 6-8 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from 3-point range. Oakes also pulled down four rebounds and notched one assist and two steals in the contest.
Senior forward
Ashleigh Vella was right behind Oakes in scoring as she recorded 16. Vella hit two 3-point shots and pulled down six rebounds while posting a season-high seven assists.
