Bengals Earn First Conference Win with 71-70 Victory Over Portland State

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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team earned its first conference win in thrilling fashion, defeating Portland State 71-70 Saturday afternoon at the ICCU Court at Reed Gym. Idaho State never trailed in the gam, and a few clutch baskets and solid defense gave the Bengals their first conference win.

"Hopefully [this win] means a little bit of positive momentum," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "Yeah, it wasn't pretty, but there were a lot of parts of it that were pretty, from a statistical point."

Senior guard Apiphany Woods paced the Bengals (8-8, 1-4 BSC) with a season- and game-high 23 points, seven boards, six assists and three steals. Senior forward Anna Policicchio grabbed a season-high 12 boards, and freshman guard Isabel Vara de Rey continued her strong play, chipping in nine points including two big threes for the Bengals down the stretch.

"It doesn't matter what team you're playing," Woods said. "You have to come and you have to play hard. With [the Big Sky Conference], it's so competitive. What stands out is how hard you work and how tough you are. Skill-wise, we're all the same. We just have to tough it out and grind it out."

Idaho State started the first with a spark, racing out to a 15-0 lead before Portland State (2-14, 0-5 BSC) scored its first two off a layup from Pia Jurhar. The Bengals adjusted nicely to PSU'a defensive zone, attacking the middle with a 1-3 high formation while limiting PSU to just nine first-quarter points off 26.7 percent shooting for the 21-9 scoreboard advantage after 10 minutes.

The Bengals cooled off a bit in the second as the home team shot just under 35 percent from the field. ISU still netted 18 points, including 10 from Woods, but Portland State began to heat up, scoring 21 points in a balanced attack in which six players scored at least two points. Junior forward Freya Newton hit two free throw shots with less than a minute remaining to keep ISU's lead in double-digits at 12, but a quick trey from PSU sent the Bengals into the half with a nine-point advantage, 39-30.

The third quarter continues to be the most difficult for the Bengals in conference, as ISU shot under 30 percent in the third for the fourth time in conference play. The Vikings capitalized on ISU's shooting woes and put together a 21-point third quarter to cut the Bengals' lead to three, 54-51, heading into the final quarter.

With 10 minutes left, ISU turned on the burners and started off on an 11-5 run for a 65-56 advantage with 5:43 left to go. PSU answered, scoring six unanswered to slice the Bengals' lead to three. ISU would twice more extend its lead to five points, each time to be answered by Portland State, either with free throws or a clutch jumper. Woods hit ISU's final jumper with 32 remaining for the Bengals' final five-point lead, 71-66, but back-to-back jumpers from Jurhar made it a one-possession game with nine seconds left.

 The Vikings immediately fouled once the ball was inbounded, sending Woods to the line with the opportunity to extend ISU's lead to three. The 74 percent free throw shooter stepped to the line and missed both, a rarity from the senior from Chicago; PSU corralled the defensive rebound and heaved one final attempt that fell short, giving ISU the 71-70 victory.

"We wanted to slow the ball enough [on that final possession], that she couldn't just run up the floor," Sololewski said. "It was a little bit of a scramble to match up. If someone goes to the basket and you have to help to prevent the layup, you leave someone else open. Portland State did a good job of finding the extra person."

Portland State finished with three players in double figures, led by Jurhar with 18 to go along with a 10 rebounds. McNair and Kay finished with 12 and 10 respectively while James hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds.