Bengals Hold off Late Bronco Run to Win at Boise State 80-77

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BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team held off a late 12-6 run from Boise State to win 80-77, earning its 20th win and first since 2012 against the Broncos. The Bengals shot 48.3 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Broncos 38-28 for their third-straight victory.

Junior guard Brooke Blair had a career-night, finishing with a team- and career-high 27 points, sinking 10-of-14 attempts including 3-of-6 from beyond-the-arc and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Three other Bengals finished in double-figures as senior forward Anna Policicchio finished with 12 points and seven boards, freshman guard Isabel Vara de Rey tallied 12 for her second double-digit effort of the season and senior guard Apiphany Woods chipped in 11 with five assists. Junior guard Freya Newton also had a dominating performance, finishing with nine points and a season- and game-high nine rebounds.

"I thought that was a great team win with people stepping up at the right moments," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "Brook had a phenomenal game. She provided us with steady scoring the whole night. Her energy level on the defensive side was incredible too."

The Bengals (5-4) found themselves in a hole early, falling behind 8-0 before Woods converted on a jumpshot at the 5:28 mark to put ISU on the board. ISU struggled in the first, shooting a mere 28.6 percent from the floor, but made up for their poor shooting on the boards, outrebounding BSU 12-6 including four on the offensive end. The Bengals finished the first with two-straight offensive boards that led to two Blair free-throws, cutting the Broncos lead to four, 16-12.

Boise State (4-4) maintained a solid six-point lead midway through the second quarter as the Bengals traded baskets with their host for the first five minutes. A layup by Policicchio at the 5:15 mark of the second sparked a 10-2 Bengal run that gave ISU its first lead of the game 28-26. A subsequent Blair jumper extended ISU's advantage to four, 30-26 with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter. The Bengals held on to their lead and headed into the break with a three-point advantage, 31-28.

The third quarter was back-and-forth with six lead changes and four ties with neither team leading by more than five points for nearly eight minutes of the quarter. Blair, who scored nine of her career-high 27 in the third quarter, squeezed through for the layup with 10 seconds left to put ISU up 57-55 heading into the fourth.

The Bengals were hot in the final quarter, hitting three three's and scoring at will inside to gain their largest lead of the night at the 3:22 mark following a three from Newton, her second of the quarter. The Broncos turned on the burners in the final minutes, applying a full-court press and forcing three ISU turnovers while the Bengals committed five fouls. However, ISU weathered BSU's 12-6 final run and held on for the 80-77 road win.

The Broncos finished with three in double-figures, led by a career- and game-high 32 from sophomore forward Shay Shaw. Shaw finished 13-of-18 from the field with seven boards.

Idaho State breaks for the next week for finals and returns home to the ICCU Court at Reed Gym to face Montana Tech Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. in its final game before the holiday break.

Notes

• Idaho State improves to 21-48 in the series against Boise State.
• The Bengals have finished with four players in double-figure points in each of the last three games; Idaho State improves to 4-0 in games scoring 80 or more points.
• Two Bengals notched career-highs: Blair in points with 27 and Newton with rebounds with nine.
• Woods has dished out 4-plus assists in each of the last four contests.
• Policicchio moves into seventh all-time on ISU career blocked shots list with 95 career blocks, finishing with one blocked shot against Boise State.