POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho state women came up just short in their game in Cedar City, Utah falling to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 74-68.
While the Bengals (19-10, 15-5 BSC) shot 46.9 percent from the field, the Thunderbirds (17-11, 13-6 BSC) shot an even better 55.3 percent from the floor.
After trading points the first four minutes of the game, the Thunderbirds hit a field goal to go up 11-9 In the first and never looked back. While the Bengals were able to pull within two points multiple times, the Thunderbirds held on for an eventual victory.
While they held the lead, the Bengals never gave up, After staring the first half on a 12-2 run the Thunderbirds extended their lead to 17, the largest of the game.
The Bengals went on a 12-2 run of their with consecutive steals by Estefania Ors and Callie Bourne while Montana Oltrogge and Tomekia Whitman tore up the floor making their layups.
Despite pulling to within two points again, Southern Utah stretched the lead back out once again and held it for the remainder of the game.
Despite the loss, the Bengals turned what was looking like a rout, into a close six-point loss.
Oltrogge led the Bengals in scoring with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Whitman followed with 18 points and Diaba Konate finished with 10.
The Tbirds grabbed 34 boards to the Bengals 26. The Orange and black had more offensive boards, 10 to SUU's eight.
Where the Bengals excelled was the paint. The Bengals scored 40 points in the pain compared to the Thunderbirds 26.
The Bengals conclude the regular season with a share of the Big Sky Title and a 15-5 Big Sky Conference Record.
The Orange and Black hit the court next at the Big Sky Basketball Tournament in Boise Idaho on Tuesday, March 8th. Follow along at ISUBengals.com and social media to find out who the Bengals will play and for Tournament information.
