RIVERSIDE, California – The Bengals did not give California Baptist a pleasant welcome to Division I basketball. Instead, Idaho State carried its hot shooting from the 2017-18 season into the Wednesday night season opener in a 72-57 rout of the Lancers; the Bengals shot 46.7 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc to begin the season 1-0.
"I thought we did a great job with our energy level in the first half," said Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski. "I thought we moved the ball well and took good shots."
Estefania Ors,
Grace Kenyon and
Saylair Grandon combined for 67 percent of the Bengals' offense. Ors led the team with 19 points in her first start since the 2016-17 season while shooting 7-12 overall and 3-4 from three.
"Estefania shot the ball exceptionally well," Sobolewski said.
Kenyon and Grandon each finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 and 14 points respectively. Kenyon was 7-11 from the field and added six assists.
Madison Hinrichs made the start at point guard and finished with six points and three assists.
Callie Bourne made her first appearance for the Bengals and scored four points without missing a shot.
The ISU defense had a strong showing with eight steals and three blocks and converted 16 points off turnovers. The team was patient on offense, tallying 15 assists on 28 made field goals.
The Lancers did win the battle of the boards with 44 rebounds to ISU's 38. CBU shot just 30.9 percent from the field with 28 of its 57 points coming from inside the key.
Grandon gave Idaho State a 2-0 lead from the free throw line and the Bengals lead wire-to-wire. Four ISU starters scored to give the Bengals an early 8-2 advantage in the first. Grandon scored the next four and Ors began her 3-point percentage defense with a long ball to extend the lead to eight.
Grandon secured a layup at the end of the quarter to give ISU a 26-13 lead at the first buzzer. She and Ors began a streak for ISU late in the second quarter and
Delaney Moore capped the 7-2 run to put Idaho State up 47-29 at the half.
The Lancers emerged from the locker room and went on a 15-3 run to cut the lead to six, but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the game. Kenyon converted on three-consecutive layups as Idaho State closed the third quarter with an 11-2 surge.
The Bengals did not allow Cal Baptist to reach double-digit points in the fourth quarter. They extended the lead by one point as they rolled to a 72-57 win, handing a loss to the Lancers in their first Division I basketball game.
CBU was led by Britney Thomas who secured a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ane Olaeta added 13 points for the Lancers.
Idaho State is back in action Friday as they take on PAC-12 opponent Arizona. The Bengals and Wildcats tip-off at 6:30 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz.
