Box Score PDF
POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team fell to North Dakota 63-56 Thursday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. ISU's five-game win streak came to an end, and for just the second time this season the Bengals were bested on the boards as the Fighting Hawks posted a 40-32 advantage.
"Tonight came down to effort stats which UND did a good job at," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. "They out-rebounded us, had fewer turnovers, and got to the line for 22 attempts."
Idaho State (14-10, 8-5 BSC) shot over 40 percent from the floor for the game while forcing the Fighting Hawks to shoot just 31.7 percent, but North Dakota (17-8, 12-2 BSC) more than made up for its lackluster shooting performance by converting 18-of-22 attempts from the charity stripe including a perfect 6-for-6 in the final quarter.
The Bengals were led in scoring for the second-straight game by freshman guard
Estefania Ors with a game-high 22 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and one assist. Senior guard
Freya Newton was the next highest scorer for the Bengals with nine points off 3-of-7 from the floor.
Idaho State opened up the first half with a solid first quarter, shooting an even 40 percent, but six turnovers in the first 10 minutes prevented the Bengals from pulling away. The squads were deadlocked at 13 points each after the first.
ISU opened the second quarter with a quick five points to gain its largest lead of the night, 18-13, as Newton sunk a jumper at the 9:38 mark followed up with a trey from Ors a minute later. Two minutes later, ISU's lead was down to one and a 6-0 UND run put the Fighting Hawks up 19-18 with 6:13 remaining.
The next 4:30 minutes featured three lead changes and five ties with neither team leading by more than a bucket. A layup from Kenyon with 53 seconds remaining put ISU up by four, 31-27. UND cut the lead to two with a couple of free throws from Lexi Klabo, and ISU went into the half with a 31-29 lead.
Freshman guard
Bianca Thacker opened up the third quarter with a three just 12 seconds in to put ISU up by five, but a 9-0 UND run over the next three minutes put the Bengals behind by four, 38-34. Idaho State would tie the game twice more in the quarter but it was never able to close the gap. Twice UND extended its lead to seven points, but a 5-0 Bengal run over the final minute cut the deficit to two, 49-47, heading into the final quarter.
The Bengals went ice cold in the fourth, shooting 8.3 percent from the floor while losing the rebounding battle 15-8. Despite ISU's fourth quarter woes, the Bengals trailed by two points with just under four minutes remaining. Idaho State prevented a UND field goal over the final four minutes, but the Bengals were also unable to score a field goal.
UND converted all six of its free throw attempts in the final minutes to seal the win, 63-56.
Idaho State continues play on the road Saturday, Feb. 18 at Northern Colorado. Tip is set for 2 p.m. MST.
