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OREM, Utah – The Idaho State women's basketball team defeated Utah Valley 70-58 at the Lockhart Arena Saturday afternoon in Orem, Utah. The Bengals were propelled by a triple-double from junior guard
Grace Kenyon – only the second ever recorded in ISU history – to go along with a season-high 27 assists on 27 made field goals.
"Grace was on another level today as an all-around basketball player," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. "She made ISU women's basketball history today with her triple-double. I'm very happy for her. With all the injuries she's been through in her career, I'm glad she will get a spot in our record book."
Kenyon finished with 12 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists for her first career triple-double to lead Idaho State. Kenyon also finished with a team-high and career-high tying four blocks. Sophomore forward
Sai Tapasa added a team-high 16 points, three blocks and six rebounds while sophomore guard Estefania Ors added 15 points off 5-of-7 from the floor to go along with three assists and five rebounds.
Idaho State (7-3) opened the first quarter with a layup from Tapasa just 12 second into the game. The Bengals built a six-point lead, 8-2, before a 6-0 Utah Valley (4-7) run tied the game 8-all with 5:26 remaining in the first. A trey from Ors put ISU back on top, and just over two minutes later a layup from freshman guard Delaney Moore gave ISU its first double-digit lead of the game at 11, 19-8. Idaho State continued to push and ended the quarter with a 13-point lead, 23-10.
The Bengals continued the hot shooting in the second quarter, shooting 46 percent from the floor for 17 points. Defensively, ISU forced Utah Valley to shoot just 20 percent from the floor for 12 points, yet a 5-of-7 performance from the line kept the Wolverines in the game. With just 2:54 remaining in the half Idaho State led by eight points, 30-22, but the Bengals rattled off 10 unanswered points over the final 2:40 to take a 40-22 lead at half.
The third quarter saw Idaho State extend its lead to at least 20 four separate times, with its largest lead coming with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter. A layup from Moore gave Idaho State a 21-point lead, but two free throws from the Wolverines brought ISU's lead to under 20, 57-39.
Idaho State finished with 13 points in the final quarter, enough to offset Utah Valley's 19-point outburst. The Bengals finished with four made field goals in the final quarter, including two treys, to thwart the Wolverines' comeback attempts. A three-pointer from senior guard
Brooke Blair with 2:15 remaining gave ISU a 16-point lead, and the Bengals allowed just four UVU points in the closing minutes to earn the 70-58 win.
"I thought we did a great job moving the ball against the zone and playing excellent defense," Sobolewski said.
Utah Valley was led by Mariah Seals with a game-high 20 points to go along with a team-high seven assists while Taylor Christensen added 18 points and a team-high tying five rebounds.
Idaho State will return to play Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at the ICCU Court at Reed Gym against Westminster. It will be the Bengals final nonconference game before tipping off against Weber State on Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. in Reed Gym.
NOTES
- Grace Keyon's triple-double is only the second ever recorded in ISU history. The last time a Bengal finished with a triple-double was in 1992; Lori Heeter recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Montana State on Jan. 2, 1992.
- ISU's 27 assists are the most this season, and it's the highest number of assists Idaho State has recorded in a single game since finishing with 24 against Utah State on Dec. 8, 2015.
- Idaho State out-rebounded Utah Valley 41-28. It's the eighth time this season that Idaho State has out-rebounded its opponent, and it's the seventh time this season that the Bengals have grabbed 40+ rebounds.
