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POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State women's basketball team defeated Sacramento State 83-71 Thursday evening at the ICCU Court in Reed Gym.
Idaho State (16-8, 8-5 BSC) finished with three players in double figures led by junior forward
Grace Kenyon with a career-high 27 points. Sophomore guard
Estefania Ors followed with 18 points, and
Brooke Blair with 13 points.
"I thought in the first three quarters we did a great job, especially in the first half," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. "We played with great energy, a great level of aggressiveness, made shots. We shot the ball really well in the first half."
Sacramento State (5-19, 3-10 BSC) jumped out to the early lead 10-4 with 7:01 remaining. The Bengals found their stride later in the quarter, putting together a 22-6 run to finish the quarter with 26 points shooting 69 percent from the field, while holding the Hornets to just 16 points at 41 percent shooting.
The Bengals extended their lead to 15 (31-16) just under two minutes into the second quarter; ISU also had a strong defensive second period, once again holding Sac State to only 16 points. The Bengals finished with 27 second-quarter points, shooting 59 percent from the field including 60 percent from beyond-the-arc. The Bengals also dominated the Hornets on the glass, outrebounding Sac State 21-12 in the first 20 minutes.
Coming out of the break, Idaho State cooled off from the floor, connecting on 6-of-17 from the floor to shoot 35.3 percent. Yet, the Bengals limited Sac State to 33 percent shooting for just 14 third-quarter points. Idaho State gained its largest lead of the evening at 27 (59-32) with a 6-0 run to start the third quarter. Sacramento State responded and outscored the Bengals 14-10 to close the period and bring ISU's lead to 23 (69-46).
In the fourth period Sac State put up 25 points off 61.1 percent shooting from the field including 42.9 percent from three. The Hornets applied full-court pressure and forced Idaho State into eight turnovers in the final 10 minutes. However, Idaho State was solid from the floor, shooting 50 percent for 14 points to hold off the Hornets' comeback effort. The Bengals held on for the 83-71 victory.
"They turned it on," Kenyon said. "At the end, they made a push for it, and they did a really good job pressuring us; it kind of startled us. That's something we need to learn from for the next game."
The Hornets were led by Hannah Friend and Maranne Johnson with 12 points each.
Idaho State continues home play Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2p.m. against Portland State at Reed Gym. The game will be ISU's annual PINK game to raise awareness for women's cancers. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the cause, and to participate in the Split the Pot fundraiser. Half of the funds raised will be donated toward women's cancer research.
NOTES
- Idaho State finished 7-of-18 from beyond-the-arc. The Bengals' seven treys mark the most since ISU finished with 11 threes at Portland State on Jan. 18.
- Kenyon's 27 points marks a new career-high. Previously, Kenyon's career-high was 26 which she scored against Montana State in the finals of the Big Sky Conference Championships.
- Junior guard Saylair Grandon finished with a game-high tying five assists, which also ties her career-high. Grandon has now twice dished out at least five assists in her career. The last time she finished with five assists was against Utah Valley on Dec. 20, 2016.
