Bengals Take Down Wilcats 65-54

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POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State women's basketball team defeated Weber State, 65-54, on Thursday night in Ogden, Utah.

ISU out-shot Weber 48 percent to 44 percent from the floor and 38 percent to 25 percent from three. The Bengals produced 20 points off of 22 Wildcat turnovers and 11 steals. Callie Bourne hit a career-high 26 points after going 9-13 from field-goal range, 2-3 from beyond the three-point arc, and 4-7 from the free-throw line. She also recorded a team-high six boards. Dora Goles put up 10 points, three steals, two assists, and five boards. Diaba Konate followed with seven points, three steals, and a career-tying six assists. Carsyn Boswell added six points after hitting a career-high two 3's.

"I think it was a game that we needed," said Assistant Coach Jasmine Stohr. "It says a lot when you can really relax and keep your mentality on the next play or the next action. Those little things add up to big things and that is what we saw tonight."

The Bengals dominated early in the game, more than doubling the Wildcats points at 15-6 and going on to end the first quarter in a 19-13 lead. The Wildcats shot 50 percent in the first quarter but it wasn't enough to keep up with the Bengals' 70 percent from the floor and 67 percent from three. ISU grabbed six boards with three steals.

Both teams struggled to make shots in the second quarter with ISU shooting 20 percent from field-goal range and WSU shooting 17 percent. The Bengals ended the first half in a 26-21 lead after going 10-25 from the floor and 3-9 from three in the half against the Wildcats' 6-16 from the floor and only two three-point attempts. WSU scored nearly half of its points from free-throws, going 9-11 from the line. ISU scored 11 points off of six steals and 15 Weber turnovers in the half.

The Wildcats came back from the break to cut the Bengal lead to two at 34-32 and again at 38-36 with just 3:21 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bengals were able to hold onto the lead until a three-point buzzer-beater by the Wildcats tied the game at 44 heading into the fourth quarter. Weber hit three 3's in the third quarter after being unable to make a three-point shot in the first half.

Weber took its first lead of the night at 46-44 one minute into the fourth quarter. The Bengals would take back a 54-50 lead after back-to-back three-pointers from Goles and Bourne with just four minutes left in the game. The momentum took ISU to finish in the game-high 11-point lead, 65-54. 

"Callie is tough," said Stohr. "You can see it on her face. She is just a competitor. She had one that one drive where the shot clock was coming down and she hesitated, went down the left lane, and finished over a girl that is about three-inches taller than her. That just speaks to her character, she is tough."

Idaho State returns home on Saturday, Jan. 18 to host Portland State at 2 p.m. (MST) in Reed Gym in its Childhood Cancer Awareness game.

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Check out highlights from tonight's victory: