Bengals Drop Conference Opener to Visiting Weber State, 61-46

Box Score PDF | Photo Gallery

POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team lost its first conference opener since the 2003-04 season, falling to visiting Weber State 61-46 Saturday afternoon at the ICCU Court at Reed Gym. The Bengals were plagued with a season-high 31 turnovers, limiting their offensive possessions and opportunities to score.

Senior forward Anna Policicchio led Idaho State with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds to go along with four blocks. Senior guard Apiphany Woods was the only other Bengal in double-figures, finishing with 10.

"We got a little negative with ourselves and a little frustrated," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "It kind of snowballed from there. I definitely think it's an 'us' issue. Not to take anything away from Weber because they did a great job. They did what they had to do to win, and they took us out of a lot of what we were trying to do."

Idaho State (7-5, 0-1 BSC) started strong, making three of its first six attempts to build a small five-point lead, 7-2 midway through the first quarter. However, Weber State (9-3, 1-0 BSC) managed the clock well, slowing down the ball and running its offense down to the last few seconds of the shot clock. This, along with four ISU turnovers, limited the Bengals' possessions and opportunities to score. ISU missed seven of its final eight shots in the first while WSU capped a 10-3 run to finish the first with a one-point lead, 11-10.

The Bengals started the second quarter on an 8-0 run, sparked by Policicchio's trey at the 9:04 mark. Junior guard Brooke Blair followed up with a layup, and sophomore Juliet Jones sunk another trey from the right wing to give ISU the 18-11 advantage with just under eight minutes left. Idaho State extended its lead to nine 22-13, its largest of the afternoon, with another Blair layup at 6:20. However, the Wildcats fired back, outscoring ISU 17-4 to close out the second quarter and claim the four-point halftime lead, 30-26.

ISU made a push following the break, limited Weber State to just 20 percent shooting from the floor and six points in the third quarter. The Bengals' eight-point third quarter effort was enough to offset their eight turnovers, cutting WSU's lead to two, 36-34.

The Bengals struggled to score in the fourth despite shooting 55.6 percent as they committed 10 turnovers in the final 10 minutes. Weber State capitalized on ISU's mistakes, scoring 13 of its 25 fourth-quarter points off turnovers. With just over two minutes remaining, the Bengals sent WSU to the line where the Wildcats converted 7-of-8, squandering ISU's comeback attempt. Weber State extended its lead to 15 and defeated the Bengals 61-46.

"We've got to stay positive as best as we can, and come together as a team," Sobolewski said. "We've got to realize that this is one game, and the good thing about all of this is that these are fixable mistakes."

Three players finished in double-figures for the Wildcats, led by both Deeshyra Thomas and Regina Okoye with 17 each. Brittney Dunbar nabbed a team-high eight rebounds and chipped in 12 points.

The Bengals are back in action Jan. 7 as they travel to Greeley, Colo. to take on the Bears of Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. MST.