Box Score PDF
PHOTO GALLERY
RENO, Nev. – The Idaho State women's basketball team defeated Montana 63-53 in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Monday evening at the Reno Events Center. It was only the third time in history that Idaho State has defeated the Griz twice in one season; the Bengals accomplished the same feat during the 2000-01 season and the 2011-12 season.
Idaho State was led in scoring by sophomore guard Isabel Vara de Rey with a game- and career-high 18 points including a career-high 10-for-10 from the line. Lindsay Brown added a career-high tying 16 points off 7-of-11 from the field while senior guard Freya Newton added nine points with six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
"We know this team," Newton said. "They've got a really good post game from both their posts and their guards, so we were really going into this game focusing on trying to take that away. I think that is where we got most of our success, was taking that away."
In the first quarter, Montana (7-23) took off for the early 4-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, and with 4:22 remaining the Griz had extended their lead to seven, 13-6. A quick 7-0 run from Idaho State (17-13) tied the game 13-all with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Bengals closed the quarter with a trey from freshman guard
Estefania Ors and a jumper from Brown to take a 18-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Idaho State extended its unanswered run into the second quarter with a layup from Brown at the 8:49 mark to lead by five, 20-15. The Griz responded and put together a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to take a two-point advantage, 24-22. Montana's lead was short lived as the Bengals locked down defensively and pushed offensively to put together an 18-4 run over the final 6:30 minutes of the half to lead 40-28 heading into the break.
The first two minutes of the third quarter was scoreless for both squads until a layup from Brown at the 8:02 mark. Three minutes later, the Bengals gained their largest lead of the night at 15, 46-31. It looked as though ISU might run away with it, but Montana hit 3-of-8 and converted 2-of-2 from the charity stripe over the final five minutes to put together a 10-2 run and cut ISU's lead to seven, 48-41, heading into the final quarter.
The Bengals opened the fourth with two straight buckets to extend their lead back to double-digits at 11, but a trey from UM's Emma Stockholm 20 seconds later once more cut ISU's lead to single-digits. The next six minutes saw a scoring drought from both squads until Montana's Hailey Nicholson finished a layup to bring the Griz within six, 52-46.
With 1:40 remaining, the Griz began to strategically foul Idaho State to stop the clock and put the Bengals at the line. ISU did not hit a field goal in the final 8:54, but the Bengals converted 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in the final 1:40 to seal the win.
"We really had to lean on our defense," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. "We thought that if we could just keep defending and rebounding the ball that eventually we kind of outlasted [the scoring drought]. Montana needed to foul to try to speed up the game and get more possessions."
Montana finished with three players in double figures, led by Nicholson with 14 points. McKenzie Johnston finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Idaho State continues play Wednesday, March 8 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinals against No. 3 Northern Colorado at 9:05 p.m. MST at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.
