Women's Basketball Holds off Northern Colorado to Advance to Quarterfinals

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RENO, Nev. – The No. 9 Idaho State women's basketball team kept its season alive with a 54-45 win over No. 8 Northern Colorado Monday afternoon at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. The Bengals shot 50 percent from the floor for the third time in the last four games to earn its first win of the season over UNC after two-straight losses from the Bears earlier this year.

Junior guard Brooke Blair led all scorers with 21 points off 8-of-16 from the field, while senior forward Anna Policicchio added 12 points with seven rebounds and one block. Junior guard Freya Newton led the rebounding effort with a game-high eight boards.

"I thought we played well," Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. "We started with defense and rebounding. It was nip and tuck in the first half, and we finally were able to get some type of lead before halftime. In the second half, I thought we did a great job of controlling the game. Slowly building a lead, getting the stops we needed to get and defending really well."

The Bengals started hot, scoring 12 seconds after the tip with a layup from Blair and following it up with another layup just over a minute later from Policicchio for the four-point lead. Idaho State (16-14 overall) held Northern Colorado (13-16 overall) scoreless for the first 3:40 of the game until Savannah Smith sunk two free throws to end the Bears' scoring drought.

Smith scored UNC's next six points to cap an 8-0 Bears run, capitalizing on ISU's 6:24 scoring drought. Blair found senior forward Tressa Lyman for an easy two in the paint to end the Bengals' dry spell and cut the lead to one point, 8-7. Northern Colorado finished on a 4-0 run to end the quarter with a 12-7 advantage.

After finishing just 3-13 from the field in the first quarter, the Bengals came alive in the second, hitting 8-of-11 for 16 points. Blair led the effort with six of ISU's 16 second-quarter points including four-straight midway through the quarter. With 5:41 remaining in the half, ISU trailed UNC 18-17, but the Bengals finished on 5-2 run for the 23-20 halftime advantage.

ISU extended its lead early in the third, starting the quarter on an 8-0 run behind four points apiece from Blair and Policicchio. UNC's Kyleigh Hiser hit a three with 6:18 remaining to break a 7:46 scoring drought that began with 4:04 left in the second. The Bengals responded, extending their lead to as many as 13 points before ending the quarter with a 10-point advantage, 40-30.

Northern Colorado brought the lead to single digits to open the fourth following a layup from Rebecca Howell, and the Bears would come within seven points, 40-33, following a free-throw from Courtney Smith with 8:44 remaining. However, Idaho State extended its lead to 13 points off a trey from Blair at the 4:37 mark and finished 7-of-8 in the final quarter to keep the Bears at bay and finish with the nine-point victory, 54-45.

Northern Colorado was led by Savannah Smith who scored all of her team-high 10 points in the first half. Savannah Scott led the Bears on the glass with seven rebounds.

The Bengals return to the floor March 9 against No. 1 Montana State at 1:05 p.m. MST at the Reno Events Center.

Notes
- Anna Policicchio recorded one block against Northern Colorado which ties her for second all-time in ISU history in career blocked shots. Policicchio is tied with Mandi Ortega of the 1996-98 seasons with 153 career blocks.
- Brooke Blair reached the 20-point plateau for the second-straight game and the fifth time this season.
- With the win, Idaho State improves to 12-14 overall in Big Sky Conference tournament history.
- Wednesday's game against Montana State will be the fifth time the Bengals have faced the Bobcats in post-season play, and it will be the second time that ISU has faced MSU in the quarterfinals. The last time the Bengals met the Bobcats in the quarterfinals, MSU emerged victorious with a 59-55 win during the 1998 season.
- Idaho State continued its superb shooting from the charity stripe as it finished 9-12 from the line for an even 75 percent for the game. This is the fourth time in the last six games that the Bengals have shot 75 percent or higher from the free-throw line.