WBB Closes Out Month with Two Home Games

GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO


THIS WEEK IN IDAHO STATE BASKETBALL
Idaho State returns home this week for a pair of games on the Idaho Central Union Court inside Reed Gym. The Bengals host Northern Colorado on Thursday night at 7 p.m. before welcoming North Dakota on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Mark Liptak will call the games live on KISU Radio. Live video will be available on  WatchBigSky.com and on the WatchBigSky app.

ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO
The Bears enter Thursday night tied for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference.  UNC is on a two-game winning streak after defeating Eastern Washington and Idaho last week. The two teams split their matchups last season with each team winning on the road.

UNC is second in the conference in scoring defense allowing just 61.6 points per game.  D'Shara Strange (18.9 ppg) and Stephanie Lee (17.7 ppg) are the top two scorers in Big Sky play.

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota enters the week in third place in the Big Sky Conference.  ND has won three consecutive games over Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Idaho.  They will take on Weber State on Thursday before traveling to Pocatello on Saturday.  

ND leads the Big Sky in rebounding margin at +9.6 per game.  The next closest team is Montana at +4.0 per game. They are the third highest scoring team in the league at 75.6 points per game.

LAST GAME RECAP FOR IDAHO STATE
The Bengals took their first lead just 11 seconds into the second half and pull away for the 65-53 victory over Portland State.  

Apiphany Woods collected her first career double-double totaling 12 points and ten assists.  It's the most assists for an Idaho State player since 2010.

EXECUTION DOWN THE STRETCH
The Bengals are 3-0 this season in games decided by one possession.  ISU has won 15 of their last 21 games in that category. In games decided by five points or less they are 25-12 over that same span.

HIT THE BOARDS
The Bengals are 8-3 this season when they have more rebounds then their the opponent but are just 1-7 when the other team has more rebounds

MAGIC NUMBER IS 70
ISU is 4-1 when they score at least 70 points in a game this season.  They are 25-2 in the last four seasons when they reach that mark.

On the reverse side the Bengals are 0-7 when they allow 70 or more points this year and 12-52 under Coach Sobolewski when allowing 70+.

BLOCK PARTY
Anna Lee Policicchio has blocked a shot in 15 of the last 16 games.  She is 42nd in the nation with 2.26 blocks per game. She had a  career-high five against the University of Houston and Utah Valley.

Her 43 blocks so far this season are just outside the top ten in school history.

1    Mandi Ortega    84    1996-97
2    Lori Heeter    71    1991-92
3    Mandi Ortega    69    1997-98
4    Mandi Carver    50    2001-02
    Mandi Carver    50    1999-00
6    Michelle Grohs    48    2008-09
7    Cydney Horton    47    2011-12
8    Mandi Carver    46    2000-01
9    Cydney Horton    45    2012-13
    Kelly Palmer    45    1986-87


 
DOUBLE-FIGURES FOR WOODS
Apiphany Woods has scored in double-figures in every game but five this season including a career-high 23 against Drake and Sacramento State.  She is fourth in the conference in scoring at 17.0 ppg


1. STRANGE, D'Shara-NC          18.9
2. LEE, Stephanie-NC         17.7
3. BARR, Stacey-UI          17.1
4. WOODS, Apiphany-ISU          17.0


FAB FRESHMAN
Grace Kenyon is the top freshman in the Big Sky in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg)