Vara de Rey Comes Up Big to Push Bengals Past SEMO

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EL PASO, Texas – The Idaho State women's basketball team outlasted the Southeast Missouri Redhawks 65-64 to claim its first road win and advance to the championship of the fifth-annual Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by UTEP at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. Freshman guard Isabel Vara de Rey was huge down the stretch for the Bengals, sinking a three-pointer as time expired to give the Bengals the win.

"Isa hit a big shot!" Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "She has a bright future with us."

Not only did Vara de Rey hit the winning three, but she scored ISU's last five points to end a 2:44 minute drought and push the Bengals past SEMO for the win. Sophomore forward Lindsay Brown gave ISU the two-point advantage, 60-58 after she sunk a jumper at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter. The Redhawks countered with a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the fourth quarter, 64-60 with 1:00 remaining. Enter Vara de Rey who scored on a fastbreak layup following SEMO's final basket and followed it up with the game-winner 50 seconds later.

Senior guard Apiphany Woods led the Bengals with 15 points, tied for the game-high, to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Junior guard Brooke Blair and senior forward Anna Policicchio also reached double figures with 13 and 12 respectively.

SEMO claimed the early lead to start the game and led by seven, 22-15 after the first 10 minutes. The Bengals quickly closed the gap at the start of the second, capping an 8-1 run to cut the Redhawks lead to one, 24-23, but SEMO responded and extended its lead to seven once again at the 2:03 mark of the second, 32-25. Sophomore guard Juliet Jones hit a three and Policicchio had an offensive rebound and put-back to end the half, and the Bengals headed to the locker room facing a four-point deficit, 34-30.

"It was a rough first quarter, especially offensively," Sobolewski said. "SEMO did a good job of changing defenses. We did a much better job of settling down in the second half. At times we played exceptional defense."

ISU was on the attack to start the second half, cutting the lead one just over a minute into the second half. Jones converted at the free throw line at the 2:19 mark  to give ISU its first lead of the game, 44-43. A subsequent jumper by Woods extended that lead to three, and ISU capped a 10-0 run to claim the 50-43 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Bengals extended their lead to 10 points, 56-46, the largest of either team, following a layup from Policicchio at the 8:12 mark of the fourth. Southeast Missouri was not to be dismissed so easily, and the Redhawks responded with an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead halfway through the fourth.  Both Blair and Woods fouled out during SEMO's destructive fourth-quarter run, and ISU's bench was forced to step up. The squads traded point-for-point until Brown's layup gave the Bengals the two-point lead, 60-58, with 3:34 remaining. The Bengals hit a drought, giving the Redhawks the four-point advantage with 1:00 remaining; enter Vara de Rey. The freshman rallied the Bengals and led them to the one-point victory, 65-64.

"Things got interesting when Apiphany and Brooke fouled out," Sobolewski said. "The bench did a great job of keeping us in it."

Three Redhawks finished in double-figures, led by Imani Johnson with 15 points and eight rebounds. Adrianna Murphy dished out a game-high six assists to go along with six points.

The Bengals are back in action tomorrow in the championship of the fifth-annual Thanksgiving Classic, and they will face UTEP at 7:05 p.m. MST at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.