POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking overtime loss to the Eastern Washington Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Tuesday night. The Eagles stormed back from a 15-point deficit to claim the upset 67-65 inside CenturyLink Arena.
Idaho State shot 40.6 percent from the field and tallied a BSC season-high 23 assists. Eastern Washington shot 44.2 percent from the floor and was aided by an 18-24 effort from the free throw line.
Estefania Ors led Idaho State with 18 points on 6-11 shooting with every shot coming from behind the arc. With 3:22 left in the third, the junior hit a three-point shot to surpass 1,000 career points and became the 20th player in Idaho State history to reach that milestone.
Sai Tapasa and
Grace Kenyon equally contributed to a combined 24 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Saylair Grandon was the only other player in double figures with 11 points. She also secured a team-best seven rebounds and eight assists.
The Bengals surged to an early advantage with a 9-0 run midway through the first quarter. They led by 10 after a quarter of play and maintained that spread through the second period and into halftime.
The Eagles managed to cut the margin to five late in the third period, but Idaho State made its final four 3-point attempts to surge to a 15-point lead with 26 seconds left in the quarter.
It was EWU's Alissa Sealby who started the comeback effort. She knocked down a long ball with just three seconds left in the third quarter. Eastern Washington then scored 13 unanswered points to open the fourth quarter and tie the game. With the game tied and 12 ticks remaining, ISU had one more shot to win the game in regulation, but it was just shy and glanced off the rim, sending the Bengals to overtime for the first time this season.
ISU opened the scoring once again in overtime and gained an early four-point lead. However, after trailing for the entirety of regulation, EWU claimed the lead with 1:43 remaining. The Bengals had another shot at the buzzer, but the potential game winner missed, ending the Bengals' stellar conference season.
Eastern Washington was led by Violet Kapri Morrow. The senior scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Bella Cravens finished with a double-double for EWU after scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Jessica McDowell-White added 11 points for the Eagles.
The game may not be Idaho State's last after finishing 20-10 overall. Only time will tell as selections for the various post season tournaments are announced.
