POCATELLO, Idaho – After battling back and forth with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos for 40 minutes, the Idaho State Bengals fell 54-52 in a heartbreaker.
"We almost stole a big one on the road." Remarked Head Coach Seton Sobolewski after the game. "I was very impressed with our fight and defense. We need to continue to work on our offensive chemistry. With a young team, it is expected."
The Bengals fall to 1-2 on the season and UCSB improves to 3-0.
The Gauchos started the game with all the momentum, quickly going up 7-0 four minutes into the game. The lead turned out to be the largest either team would have for the remaining 34 minutes of the contest.
Near the end of the first half, Callie Bourne showed her offensive capability scoring back to back layups past the Gaucho defense.
At halftime, the Bengals held a three-point 22-19 lead highlighted by Bourne's 10 points.
The third period continued the battle between the two teams, the Bengals continued to fight and at the end of the period ISU went into the final quarter trailing 35-31.
UCSB held onto their slim lead for the first two minutes of play, before Laura Bello grabbed a strong offensive board and put back the layup to cut the lead to two.
Then, on a fastbreak turnover, Kacey Spink found Finley Garnet open on the perimeter and Garnett drained the three-pointer to retake the lead at 38-37 with seven minutes to play. Garnett then followed it up with another trey to put the Bengals up 41-39.
Bourne converted a strong and-1, to put the Bengals up three but the Gauchos were able to respond, and tie the game with 2:54 to play.
After UCSB converted two free throws, Garnett responded with an strong O board into a reverse layup to cut the lead to one with 8 seconds left.
The Bengals tried their best to close the gap in the final seconds, but were unable and the game ended with the 54-52 UCSB victory.
Bengal Bites
· Callie Bourne led the Bengals offensively, she finished the game with 16 points on seven-of-19 from the floor, she also had five boards and four assists.
· For the 2nd time in three games, Finley Garnett scored in double-digits, going five-of-12 for 12 points.
· The new duo of Kacey Spink and Laura Bello had a dominant game on the glass, grabbing a combined 19 rebounds, 11 offensive and eight defensive.
· Spink also had a career high five assists and continued her strong defensive effort, grabbing three steals from the Gauchos.
· Idaho State won the battle in the pain, scoring 24 points to UCSB's 20.
· Idaho State won the battle on the glass 38-36 and had 20 offensive rebounds to UCSB's 12. The Bengals used it to their advantage with 17 second-chance points.
· The biggest discrepancy in the match came from the charity stripe and proved to be the difference in the game. Idaho State went four-of-five from the line, while the Gauchos were awarded 23 free throws, converting 19 of them.
Social Bites
Looking Ahead
Next Up, the Bengals take a trip to Seattle to take on the PAC-12 Washington, Huskies. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM MT.
