Women's Basketball Defeats No. 4 North Dakota to Advance to Championship

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RENO, Nev. – The Idaho State women's basketball team is advancing to the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship for the first time since 2012 and the fifth time in program history after defeating No. 4 North Dakota 69-54 in the semifinals Friday afternoon at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. The Bengals outrebounded the top defensive rebounding team 48-38 and forced UND, a 42.6 percent shooting team, to shoot just 26.8 percent from the field.
 
"[Our performance] is right up there," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "It might be one of our best because [North Dakota] is a really good team out there, a really physical team. And we've had our butts kick more than a few times by North Dakota. They're well coached; Travis [Brewster] is a great coach and he's done a great job there. We really have to play hard and be on our best to even have a chance to beat them. We put it together tonight."
 
Idaho State (18-14) finished with three in double-figures, led by senior guard Apiphany Woods with 15. Junior guard Freya Newton was perfect from the field including 3-of-3 from deep for 14 points, one shy of her career-high. Junior guard Brooke Blair chipped in 10 to go along with a game-high five assists, and senior forward Tressa Lyman hauled in a game- and career-high 15 boards and added nine points.
 
The Bengals opened the first quarter shooting 42 percent overall and hit 3-of-5 from deep to gain a 10-point lead after the first ten minutes. Idaho State forced North Dakota (18-13), which entered the game averaging 42.6 percent shooting, to just 21.4 percent in the opening period. North Dakota hit two free throws with 2:05 remaining to cut ISU's lead to four, 15-11, but ISU forced nearly a five-minute scoring drought for UND stretching into the second quarter and capitalized for a 21-11 lead.
 
UND's Mia Loyd hit a jumper at the 7:27 mark of the second quarter to end the Fighting Hawks scoring drought and bring ISU's lead under 10, 21-13. The Bengals responded with a short 7-3 run over the next 2:47 with two layups and a trey for their largest lead of the game thus far, 28-16.
 
Idaho State outscored UND 6-5 to close the quarter and head into the break with a 13-point advantage, 34-21. The Bengals limited North Dakota to just six made field goals in the first half, but the Fighting Hawks converted 8-of-11 from the charity stripe to keep ISU's lead under 15.
 
UND opened the third with a 4-0 run, but a monster block from sophomore forward Lindsay Brown and the following transition trey from Newton swung the momentum back in ISU's favor. The Fighting Hawks turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Woods finished a layup on the run to give ISU a 15-point lead with 7:26 left in the third.
 
UND chipped away at the Bengals' lead and cut it to eight, 45-, off a jumper from Leah Szabla at the 3:40 mark. Both teams were scoreless over the next 1:50 until Lyman finished in traffic for the 10-point cushion, 47-37. Lyman converted at the free throw line 30 seconds later to give ISU a 48-37 lead heading into the final period.
 
The fourth quarter was all ISU as the Bengals finished 50 percent from the field in the final 10 minutes, sinking 6-of-12 attempts in addition to converting 8-of-11 at the free throw line. UND opened the quarter with a jumper from Samantha Roscoe to bring ISU's lead under 10 just six seconds in. UND would come within seven, 50-43 with 8:31 remaining but the Fighting Hawks would not get any closer as the Bengals capped a 7-1 run over the next 3:30 for a 13-point cushion, 57-44 with 4:47 remaining. Idaho State kept control and cruised to the 69-54 semifinal victory to advance to its first Big Sky Conference Tournament championship since 2012.
 
Three players finished in double-figures for North Dakota led by Szabla with 18. Roscoe finished with 14 points and Mia Loyd added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Idaho State faces No. 3 Idaho March 12 at 1:05 p.m. MST in the championship of the Big Sky Conference tournament at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. It will be the first-ever all-Idaho championship in Big Sky Conference tournament history.

Notes
- The Bengals advance to the Big Sky Conference tournament championship for the first time since 2012 and the fifth time in program history. The Bengals, as a No. 9 seed, are the lowest seed to ever advance to the championship. Idaho State carries a 3-1 record in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game.
- Anna Policicchio recorded three blocks against North Dakota and now ranks first all-time in ISU history for blocks in a single season. Policicchio surpassed Mandi Ortega who recorded 84 blocks during the 1996-97 season.
- For the second-straight game, ISU has had a player grab 15 or more rebounds. Tressa Lyman hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds against UND, while Policicchio grabbed a career-high 17 against Montana State two days prior.
- Coming in, the Fighting Hawks had won six-straight games, including 13 of their last 14. The Bengals are now on a five-game winning streak which ties the longest of the season. During the month of December, the Bengals won five-straight including a major 80-77 win over Mountain West foe Boise State.
- The Bengals improve to 5-1 on the season in games in which they have recorded at least 20 points in the opening quarter. ISU's only loss with a 20-point first quarter came at Sacramento State on Feb. 13.