POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State Bengals defeated the Montana State Bobcats 62-53 in Reed Gym Monday evening. After trailing at the end of the first, the Bengals retook the lead in the 2nd and held it through the end of the game.
Idaho State moves to 8-10 (4-3 BSC) on the season and Montana State moves to 9-10 (3-3 BSC).
How it Happened
The Bengals had a first quarter filled with highs and lows for the team Monday evening. The team shot six-of-11 from the floor for 54.5 percent FG shooting but also had nine turnovers, leading to seven MSU points in the first 10.
From the start, Tasia Jordan was on fire for the Orange and Black, in the first 10 minutes, Jordan had five points a steal, and a block with three rebounds.
The Bengals went into the game wanting to control the glass and Idaho State set the tone early. In the first 10 minutes, the Bengals grabbed 12 boards to MSU's four.
The Bobcats shot seven-of-17 from the floor and took a 17-15 lead into the 2nd quarter.
The Bengals had a chance to grab the momentum back in the 2nd quarter and ISU pounced on it.
The Bengal offense shot eight-of-17 from the field, scoring 20 points, while the Bobcats went ice cold, only converting on one-of-10 field goal attempts.
With under a minute left, Maria Dias took the ball up the court and weaved through the MSU defense to hit a layup and extend the Bengal lead to nine.
With under 10 seconds left, Kacey Spink hit a jumpshot and the Bengals went into the locker room with a 35-21, eleven-point lead.
The Bengals dominance on the glass continued with ISU not giving an inch, outrebounding the Bobcats 15-4 in the period.
Coming out of the locker room, the Bengals didn't give an inch, matching the Bobcats shot for shot. With 1:12 left in the period, Kacey Spink hit a pull up jumpshot to give the Bengals their largest lead of the evening, 14 points at 49-35.
The Bengals went cold for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, not able to convert on any field goal attempts. The Orange and Black hit free throws to maintain the lead, but MSU kept chipping away.
With 90 seconds left in the period, the Bobcats cut the Bengal lead to just six. On the next possession with the shot clock running out, the ball got pitched to Halle Wright, who stepped up and hit a clutch three-pointer to the cheers of the Bengal faithful in Reed.
The Bengals lead was extended to nine and ISU held onto the lead for the remainder of the game, closing out the contest with the 62-53 win.
Notes-
· Tasia Jordan ended the game with 14 points on five-of-nine shooting with 10 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and an assist. Jordan's double-double is the first for the Bengals since Laura Bello against UCSB on 11/15/23.
· Kacey Spink also scored in double-digits with six-of-11 shoting from the floor with three steals and a block.
· Eight separate Bengals scored during the game. Sophia Covello was third in scoring with nine points on three-of-six shooting.
· The Bengals as a team shot 48.9 percent on 22-of-45 shooting. MSU took 15 more shot attempts than the Bengals, but only converted 17 field goals.
· The Bengals +21 rebound margin is the most against a DI opponent for ISU this season.
· The Bengals had 21 turnovers to MSU's six, giving up 14 points off of those turnovers.
· The Bengals seven blocked shots tie the season high for the team. Tasia Jordan's three blocked shots are a single-game season high for ISU.
· Maria Dias' eight made free throws are a single-game season-high for the Bengals.
Up Next
The Orange and Black are back home Saturday afternoon taking on the Weber State Wildcats at 2:00 PM MT in Reed Gym. Fans are encouraged to 'Orange Out' Reed Gym.
