POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State women's basketball team has tied with Idaho for a first place finish in the coaches' poll and finished second in the media preseason polls that was released by the Big Sky Conference on Wednesday.
"The recognition of being picked first in any poll is nice," said Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski. "It's a reflection of the work we've put in, but there is still a lot of work to do to earn the top spot. I feel there is going to be more parity this year and Big Sky play is going to be tough especially under the circumstances."
Idaho State tied with in-state rivals Idaho for a first place finish in the coaches' poll while going on to finish a close second in the media poll. Idaho received 16 first place votes in the media poll and four first place votes in the coaches' poll. The Bengals received two first place votes in the media poll and two in the coaches poll.
Northern Arizona finished third in both polls while Montana State and Northern Colorado took fourth and fifth respectively.
In the media poll, Portland State finished sixth, just ahead of Montana. In the coaches poll' Montana finished ahead of Portland State for a sixth place finish.
Southern Utah would finish eighth in both polls to allow Eastern Washington and Sacramento State to fight for ninth and tenth place. In the media poll, EWU finished ninth while Sac State finished 10th. In the coaches' poll, Sacramento State pulled ahead of EWU to take ninth.
Weber State finished out the voting in 11th place.
The Bengals finished 18-13 during the 2019-20 season with a 13-7 mark in Big Sky Conference play. The team finished third in league play and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals before falling to Idaho, 66-51.
| 2020-21 Big Sky Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll |
| Teams |
|
Points |
| Idaho |
(4) |
91 |
| Idaho State |
(2) |
91 |
| Northern Arizona |
(3) |
80 |
| Montana State |
(1) |
77 |
| Northern Colorado |
(1) |
64 |
| Montana |
|
53 |
| Portland State |
|
50 |
| Southern Utah |
|
36 |
| Sacramento State |
|
26 |
| Eastern Washington |
|
23 |
| Weber State |
|
14 |
| 2020-21 Big Sky Women's Basketball Media Poll |
| Teams |
|
Points |
| Idaho |
(16) |
221 |
| Idaho State |
(2) |
206 |
| Northern Arizona |
|
180 |
| Montana State |
(2) |
173 |
| Northern Colorado |
(1) |
135 |
| Portland State |
|
127 |
| Montana |
|
122 |
| Southern Utah |
|
73 |
| Eastern Washington |
|
65 |
| Sacramento State |
|
54 |
| Weber State |
|
29 |
