Since the Idaho State women's basketball program began in 1974, it has earned three Big Sky regular season titles as well as three Big Sky Tournament titles. The most recent coming last season as the Bengals finished league play with a 14-2 record and claimed both the regular season and tournament crown. Here is a look back at the championship seasons at Idaho State.
2000-01
During the 2000-01 season, head coach Ardie McInelly led the Bengals to a program-best 25 wins and the program's first regular season and conference tournament titles. That year, ISU recorded its only undefeated league record at 16-0 and won a program-best 21 straight games. Mandi Carver recorded 17 double-doubles that season, a record that would stand until the 2006-07 season when Natalie Doma posted 24. Carver led the team that season, averaging 14.3 points and 10.1 points per game.
In the Big Sky Tournament, Idaho State faced Weber State in the semifinal and pulled out a narrow win over the Wildcats 56-55. ISU then defeated Montana in the finals 68-59. Carver was named tournament MVP while Sarah Nelson and Ashley Toner were named first team all-tournament.
At the NCAA Tournament, ISU faced No. 3 seed Vanderbilt and played the second-most competitive game in the tournament's history between a No. 14 seed and No. 3 seed. The Bengals lost to No.10 ranked Vanderbilt 83-57, who lost to eventual champion Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.
The Bengals ended their 25-5 season with an RPI of 76. Before that they had never even approached the top 100.
2005-06
Idaho State's next Big Sky title came during the 2005-06 campaign under head coach Jon Newlee. The Bengals clinched a regular season Big Sky Conference Championship with an 11-3 conference record after a 77-75 win over Montana State at Reed Gym. Andrea Lightfoot scored a game-high 20 points and Joanna Hixon added 19. The win gave ISU the right to host the Big Sky Tournament for the second time in school history.
The Bengals went on to face Weber State in the semifinal and were upset 71-70. Although falling short of the tournament championship, with a 17-12 overall record, Idaho State earned a trip to the WNIT and drew eventual WNIT Champion Kansas State. The Bengals held tough until a late push by Kansas State gave the Wildcats an 88-68. Four Bengals scored in double-figures, led by Andrea Lightfoot's 16 points and Natalie Doma's double-double, but a 17-0 KSU run sealed the game. Jeni Boesel kept the Bengals close in the second half with 14 points, but KSU had an answer for every ISU second-half surge. ISU nearly out-rebounded the bigger Wildcats as ISU was only beaten on the boards 43-42. Joanna Hixon added 15 points and had a game-high six assists for the Bengals.
2006-07
During the 2006-07 season, Idaho State finished 17-14 overall and 11-5 in Big Sky action. The Bengals earned the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinal round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament hosted by Montana.
The Bengals defeated Weber State in the semifinal 72-63 before taking on No. 6 seed Northern Arizona in the championship final. The Bengals defeated the Lumberjacks 84-78 to earn the program's second Big Sky Tournament title. Natalie Doma led the way for ISU with 24 points and 16 rebounds in the contest, earning her Big Sky Tournament MVP honors. Doma was the second player in ISU history to be named tournament MVP. Andrea Lightfoot was named all-tournament.
With the tournament win, ISU earned its second program berth to the NCAA Tournament where the Bengals faced Stanford in the first round. Despite a 32-point performance by Doma, Idaho State dropped the contest 96-58.
Natalie Doma became ISU's all-time leading scorer during the contest as she surpassed 1,540 points with 14:34 remaining in the game. With one year of eligibility remaining, Doma would go on to score an ISU record 2,296 points during her career.
Doma scored 685 points that season, the best ISU had ever seen until she broke that record the following season with 695. She also made a record 260 field goals and pulled down an ISU-best, 372 rebounds during the 2006-07 campaign. She set a record for single-season double-doubles with 24 and broke that record in 2007-08 with 26.
That season Doma and Lightfoot earned Big Sky First Team All-Conference honors while Jeni Boesel was named second team.
2011-12
ISU's most recent championship season came just a year ago as the Bengals finished 24-8 overall and 14-2 in Big Sky play.
With just two Big Sky losses, the Bengals earned the regular season title and the right to host the program's third Big Sky Conference Tournament. The Bengals defeated Sacramento State in the semifinal 70-57 before claiming the tournament title with an exhilarating 49-46 win over Northern Colorado in the final.
After it was all said and done, ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski, in his fourth year with the Bengals, was named Big Sky Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. Senior
Chelsea Pickering was named tournament MVP while junior
Ashleigh Vella and sophomore
Lindsey Reed were named to the all-tournament team.
Pickering and junior
Kaela Oakes were named first team all-conference while Vella was named honorable mention.
The 2011-12 season was the second most winningest season for ISU, only bested by the 2000-01 season win ISU notched 25 wins under head coach Ardie McInelly. It was also the first 20-plus win season for ISU since 2007-08.
Idaho State entered the Big Dance as the No. 14 seed that season and went on to face No. 3 seed Miami (FL) in the first round. The Bengals fought hard against a much bigger and physical Miami squad but lost the contest 70-41.
The defending Big Sky Champions are off to the Big Sky Conference Tournament this week for a program-best 10
th straight time. The No. 4-seeded Bengals face No. 5 Sacramento State Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Missoula, Mont.
We Are Your Bengals
