POCATELLO, Idaho – A steal by Saylair Grandon and the finish by Grace Kenyon in the final seconds of Saturday's game lifted Idaho State (5-4) past Pepperdine (5-2) to conclude nonconference play in Reed Gym. The Bengals were able to keep the tide low, holding the Waves scoreless over the final 2:40 before Kenyon's layup sealed the 65-63 win.
"That was just kind of some Reed Gym magic where people are making plays and not getting discouraged," said Head Coach Seton Sobolewski. "…We had four fouls to give before the bonus so that allowed us to play a little bit more aggressively than we normally do to go for steals and try to make plays… Saylair came up with a great steal and Grace ran the floor and got a good look."
Four of ISU's starters reached double figures with Kenyon leading the way at 18 points while adding five rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. Estefania Ors, Grandon and Sai Tapasa followed with 14, 13 and 10 points respectively. Tapasa and Grandon led the team in rebounds with 13 between the two and all but two of ISU's eight players tallied an assist.
The Bengals surged to an early 7-0 lead with Ors scoring seven of ISU's first 11 points. Tapasa stretched the lead to eight with under a minute left in the opening period before Pepperdine buried a buzzer beater, giving ISU a 22-16 advantage at the break.
Kenyon scored seven in the second quarter as the teams traded baskets. Both squads scored 13 points and ISU headed to the locker room up 35-29.
The Bengals flirted with a double-digit advantage several times in the third and a jumper from Kenyon gave ISU the largest lead of the game at 47-35 with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. Tapasa completed an unconventional three-point play late in the period, but Pepperdine was able to sneak a shot in before the final horn once again to make the game 50-41 ISU.
Pepperdine's Deezha Battle and Yasmine Robinson-Bacote combined for 14 points in the fourth as they tried to will the Waves back into the game. Pepperdine's Megan House blocked an ISU shot and finished on the other end to give the Waves their first lead of the game with five minutes remaining.
The lead was exchanged six times in the closing minutes with Battle giving Pepperdine its largest lead at 61-57 with a three pointer. It was the last shot the Waves made in the game as ISU battled its way back to the top.
The Waves held the ball with the game tied and less than 20 ticks remaining on the clock, but Keyari Sleezer committed an offensive foul on the throw-in to put the Bengals on the line. ISU was unable to convert as Malia Bambrick grabbed the rebound and began to push up the court for Pepperdine.
Grandon, knowing the Bengals still had one foul to give, stole the ball just before halfcourt and fed Kenyon underneath the basket for the go-ahead layup; just six seconds remained. Pepperdine was able to push up the court and get a three-point attempt off, but it was short, sealing the third-consecutive win for Idaho State.
A big difference maker was turnovers. Idaho State committed just 10 while forcing 19 and was able to score 23 points on the other end. In contrast, the Waves scored just seven points off turnovers.
Idaho State shot 46.4 percent from the field, marking the third-consecutive game the team has shot above 46 percent. Pepperdine had a 42.6 field goal percentage while going 40.0 percent from beyond the arc and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Pepperdine's size helped the team collect 34 rebounds to Idaho State's 26. ISU tallied 15 assists on 26 field goals while Pepperdine tallied 11 on 23 field goals.
Battle came off the bench and led all players with 19 points. She also led Pepperdine in rebounding with six boards. Robinson-Bacote and Barbara Sitanggan combined for 23 points for the Waves.
The Bengals became the only Big Sky school to knock off Pepperdine this season. The Waves had previously defeated Sacramento State and Weber State.
Idaho State now has three weeks to prepare for its conference opener against Idaho. The Battle of the Domes matchup will take place in Reed Gym Dec. 29 at 2 p.m.
