Women's Basketball Downs Idaho on Senior Night

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POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State  women's basketball team defeated Idaho 89-68 in its final home and regular season game of the 2015-16 season. With the win, Idaho State (15-14, 8-10 BSC) clinched the No. 9 seed in the upcoming Big Sky Conference Basketball Championship and will play No. 8 Northern Colorado Monday at 1:05 p.m. MST in Reno, Nev.
 
Junior guard Brooke Blair led all scorers with 24 points for Idaho State. Senior guard Apiphany Woods added 21 points and six boards while sophomore forward Lindsay Brown scored a career-high 16 points.
 
"I'm really happy for our seniors to go out this way," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "They all played very well and with a lot of passion tonight. We have a lot of positive momentum going into the tournament."
 
Idaho State shot 55 percent from the field and 52 percent from behind the three point line making 11-of-21. Idaho (21-9, 13- BSC) struggled shooting all night finishing at 31 percent from the field and 32 percent from three.
 
A 14-0 run gave the Bengals a 17-7 lead with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter. Blair scored 11 points in the period to lead the Bengals and Woods added seven points.
 
Blair knocked down a three with eight seconds left in the quarter to give ISU a 25-14 lead.
 
The Bengals shot 59 percent from the field in the first quarter and 71.4 percent from behind the three point line, (5-of-7). The Vandals shot just 33 percent from the field and turned the ball over five times.
 
Idaho went on a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter to cut ISU's lead to 31-29. The run was capped off by a pair of free throws and a layup by senior forward Ali Forde.
 
The Bengals answered as Brown scored 10 consecutive points, capping a 14-3 ISU for a 45-32 advantage with 1:15 left in the first half. Idaho scored once more, giving the Bengals an 11-point halftime lead, 45-34.
 
Blair led the way in the first half for Idaho State scoring 14 points. Brown added 13 and Woods scored 11. Forde scored 10 points and secured four rebounds for Idaho.
 
Idaho State outscored Idaho 19-18 in the third quarter to maintain its double-digit lead. At the start of the fourth, the Bengals' lead ballooned to 15, 67-52 following a steal and a score by Blair less than two minutes into the final quarter.
 
Idaho went on a 6-0 run in the next 26 seconds to cut the ISU lead to 67-58 with 7:48 left but that is as close as the Vandals would get.
 
Both teams played back-and-forth the next four minutes, and Idaho State used a 9-0 run over the next 1:35 to take an 85-66 lead with 2:11 left in the game.
 
Blair knocked down a three with 1:17 remaining giving ISU an 88-68 lead which brought the 1,255 fans in attendance to their feet.
 
"The energy from the fans was incredible tonight," said Sobolewski. "This is a place where people really care about women's basketball and they are fully invested into it. It's a really special place for us to play."
 
Forde led the way for Idaho with 17 points and five rebounds. Ferenz added 14 points and senior forward Renae Mokrzycki scored 13 points.
 
Idaho State out-rebounded Idaho 41-32.
 
Idaho State will open up play in the Big Sky Conference Basketball Championship at 1:05 p.m. MST on Monday, March 7 against No. 8 Northern Colorado in Reno, Nev.