POCATELLO, Idaho - Montana Oltrogge sidestepped the Weber defender and hit a three with three seconds left to give the Idaho State Bengals (8-6, 4-1 BSC) a 67-66 lead and win over the Weber State Wildcats (7-7, 3-2 BSC) Saturday afternoon in Ogden.
The Bengals came back from seven down with five minutes to play in the game
The Bengals got off to a quick start in the first period, grabbing an 8-4 lead on Weber after long jumper by Ellie Smith with 6:53 to play in the quarter.
The two teams traded buckets and the Bengals had back-to-back blocks by Montana Oltrogge and Estefania Ors.
With 2:19 to play, Ors hit a contested three to retake a 15-14 lead for the Bengals.
Coming into the game at 1:55, Bengal freshman Ananya Bernard made a defensive impact, playing close to the Weber defender and forcing a backcourt violation. Ors responded on the turnover and hit a jumper to make it 17-14.
The first period ended with a one-point 20-19 Bengal advantage.
The two teams settled into a defensive back and forth rhythm in the second period. Ors and Oltrogge led the Bengals with five points each.
The Bengals erased a deficit with 2 to play in the period on a 10-6 run to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Bengals had a slow third quarter with Weber outscoring the Bengals 17-8 in the period and taking a 50-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Bengals staring down a resurgent Weber State, came out swinging in the second half. Estefania Ors led the charge, going six-of-seven from the floor and scoring 13 points.
Weber State held their lead until with five minutes left in the game, the Bengals turned on the jets.
After a pair of made free throws by WSU. The Bengals started their run with Ors hitting a jumper to pull the game to within five. Diaba Konate took advantage of a WSU turnover and made a driving layup to pull the game within 4.
After Whitman pulled down the defensive rebound, Ellie Smith hit a jumpshot to bring the gap to two points.
The Bengals finally retook the lead with 1:27 to play in the contest after Ors drove to the rim and made the layup to give the Bengals a 64-63 lead.
The Wildcats retook the lead with 1:08 to play after a pair of made free throws, setting up the Bengals for a final push.
With seconds left on the clock, the Bengals called a timeout and Head Coach Seton Sobolewski drew up his final play.
Like they had previously this season, the Bengals got the ball to Oltrogge, after nimbly side stepping her WSU defender, Oltrogge connected on a clutch three-pointer with raucous cheers from the ISU faithful that made the trip to Ogden. The Bengals had a 67-66 lead over the wildcats and had to hold for one final play.
The Bengals held firm on the WSU attack and closed out the game with the Orange and Black victory.
Ors led the Bengals with her second game in a row scoring 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor.
Oltrogge came in next with 16 points and a team high four-of-seven from behind the three-point arc. Smith rounded out the Bengals in double-digits with 10 points on five-of-eight shooting.
The Wildcats outrebounded the Bengals 36-30. Whitman led ISU with eight boards and Oltrogge followed just behind with seven.
Konate had a career game calling the shots for the Bengals. The Junior guard had a career high 13 assists in 35 minutes played.
Whitman continued her defensive streak, with four steals in the game. Ors and Konate also had three steals for the Bengals.
Idaho State tied its season-high in team blocks with five. Oltrogge led the team with three solo blocks.
The Bengals are back on the road this week as they head north to take on Eastern Washington Thursday and Idaho Saturday.
Follow along at ISUBengals.com to keep up to date with the team and don't forget to follow us on social media.
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