MISSOULA, Montana – No points in the first 6:48 of the game. Quickly down 16-0 and an eventual 21-point deficit in front of a raucous road crowd cheering on their top seeded team. Each of these factors pointed towards an ugly ending to the season for Idaho State.
"I thought we very easily could have quit after being down but we stayed optimistic and played hard," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said.
Led by a career-high 32 points from
Apiphany Woods the No. 8 seed Bengals mounted a furious rally that came up just short (69-67) to No. 1 seed Montana in the Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinals at Dahlberg Arena.
"I think we all had to come to terms that we were either going to make this a good game or we were going to get blown out of the gym," Woods said of the team's mindset. "If this was our last game we weren't going to finish like that."
The Bengals missed their first nine shots and did not score until Woods connected on a three-pointer with 13:12 left in the first half. The team chipped away and used an 8-0 run to close the gap to 13 at halftime.
"We knew we were going to come out better (in the second half)," Anna Lee Policicchio said. "We wanted to use defense to fuel our offense. We had to crack down defensively."
ISU did just that holding UM to a meager 18.2% (4-22) shooting in the second half. The stifling Bengal defense held the Griz without a second-half field goal until the 9:22 mark.
A 15-4 run capped off by a three-pointer from Woods and a driving layup from Policicchio made the score 61-55 with 1:42 left but the Griz would hit their free-throws and swell the lead back to nine with under a minute to play.
However the Bengals still would not go away. In between UM free-throws Woods hit a jumper and then a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions. She was then was fouled on a shot from behind the arc and connected on all three free-throws to close the gap to 67-63 with 16 seconds left.
Following two more free throws from UM's Hannah Doran, ISU's
Katrina Bacovcin hit a layup with five seconds left and then quickly stole the inbounds pass and scored another basket to trim the lead to only two with 1.4 seconds remaining.
The Bengals would tie-up the ensuing inbounds pass but the possession arrow pointed in favor of the home team and the top seed Griz were saved by the final horn.
"We had to believe in ourselves and I think we did that," Policicchio said. "We go through so much throughout the season and prepare in all of the league games for this tournament. We didn't want to leave it like that."
"Like a lot of coaches say there are some games that you win and you don't feel good about because you didn't play well," Sobolewski said. "Then there are some games where you lose and it's a little bit easier to swallow and this is one of those games because of our effort and not quitting."
Megan Hochstein finished with ten points and five rebounds on a perfect 4-4 FG while Anna Lee Policicchio collected 11 points and nine rebounds.
ISU finishes the season with a 13-17 record. The Bengals graduate just two seniors in
Jasmine Lemon and
Rebecca Schrimpsher.
"I have to take my hat off to the whole community of Montana," Sobolewski said. "There were so many classy people that came up to us after the game and congratulated us on playing so well and they said it with sincerity and I appreciate that. I am proud of our team and the way we fought back."
GAME NOTES- The 32 points from Apiphany Woods are the second most by an ISU player since 2010. Lindsey Reed scored 34 against Montana State last season.
- Four players fouled out for ISU. Montana held a 36-24 advantage at the free-throw line.
- Seton Sobolewski set the Idaho State all-time games coached record leading the Bengals in his 215 game.
We Are Your Bengals
