Bengals Set to Wrap Up Big Sky/Summit League Challege in South Dakota Saturday

POCATELLO, Idaho – The 2023-24 Big Sky / Summit League Challenge continues. This Saturday, the Bengals play in the final game of the challenge against the South Dakota Coyotes in Vermillion, South Dakota.
The Game will be broadcast on KISU 91.1 FM and on KISU.org. The game will also be streamed on the Summit League Network, a paid subscription streaming service. Live Stats will be available for the contest. All links below.
 
How To Follow
ISU vs South Dakota | 1/6 | 12:00 PM MT | Vermillion, SD

Watch	Summit League Network (Paid Streaming Service)
Listen	KISU
Live Stats	Live Stats
Tickets	Tickets

 
 
Bengal Bites

• The Idaho State Bengals have a new roster heading into the 2023-24 season. Of the 14 total Bengals on the squad, seven are new to the program this season.
• Returning for the Bengals is all-conference forward Laura Bello and newcomers to keep an eye on are NJCAA all-American Tasia Jordan and sharpshooter Maria Dias from Lisbon, Portugal.
• This is a young Bengal team, there are no seniors on the squad this season.
• 97 points scored against Park University is the most since Feb. 10, 2022, when the Bengals defeated the Idaho Vandals 103-68 in Reed Gym
• The Bengals had a +30 rebound margin over the Park Buccaneers, outrebounding Park 57-27. The Bengals had 21 offensive boards to Park's 6
• In the Bengal's 70-64 win over UC Santa Barbara, the Bengals and Gauchos had an extremely even contest with 15 ties and 16 lead changes.
• The Bengals shot 90.5 percent from the free throw line against UCSB, the best in a game with 10+ Free throw attempts since 12/30/2021 when the Bengals went 10-for-10 against Montana
• The Bengals have only been out-rebounded once this season, a -5 40-to-35 at Arizona State
• Idaho State went 1-2 at the 2023 Rainbow Wahine Showdown. In their 3rd game, facing Air Force, the Bengals came back from a 29-20 halftime deficit to win the game.
• Maria Dias was named to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown all-tournament team posting 10.3 PPG, 3.7 rebounds per game and shooting 400 from the field.
• The Bengals lead the Big Sky Conference on the glass, holding a +7 rebound margin and averaging 41.14 rebounds per game.
• After the Utah Valley game, Kacey Spink ranks 27th in the nation in offense rebounds per game and 41st in the NCAA in total rebounds per game (9.4)
• After the win over UVU the Bengals are now 14-3 all-time vs the Wolverines.
• The Bengals Overtime game against the BYU Cougars was the first OT game for Idaho State since 12/3/2022 when the Bengals won 58-54.
• Tasia Jordan led the Bengals against the BYU Cougars with 22 points on nine made field goals, a season high for the Bengals this season.
• The Overtime loss to BYU was the first OT game in the series history between the Bengals and the Cougars.
• The Bengals had one of their best 4th quarters of the season against Montana State, the Bengals outscored the Bobcats 17-5 over the final six minutes of play in a comeback attempt which fell just short.
• In the opening weekend of Big Sky play, the Bengals were outrebounded 77-58, a departure from the play on the glass up to this point in the season for the Orange and Black.
• Maria Dias had a strong opening weekend of big sky play averaging 18 points per game shooting 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range. The Bengal was also nearly perfect from the charity stripe hitting 12 of 13 free throw attempts.
• For the first time in three games, the Bengals outrebounded their opponent against the UND Fighting Hawks. The Bengals grabbed 41 boards to UND's 38

 
 
Quick Look – South Dakota Coyotes
• The South Dakota Coyotes are 11-5 on the season. The Coyotes previous big sky matchup came in Missoula, a 74-61 loss to the Lady Griz
• This is just the 3rd meeting of the two programs. The previous meetings came in 2011 and 2012 with a series split. The Bengals won the previous matchup 69-45 in Vermillion.
• Grace Larkins leads the coyotes with 16.6 ppg. She was a preseason all-summit league pick and also brings down 7.2 rebounds per game. Larkins finished the game against Montana one point and one assist shy of a triple-double.
• The Coyotes are outscoring opponents 74.8 to 63.8 this season a +11 scoring margin. The team is shooting .455 percent from the field per game.
• South Dakota is very strong from behind the arc. Hitting 8.4 three-pointers per game with a .350 shooting average from three range.
 
Next Up
The Bengals are back to league play with a pair of home games against Portland State on Jan. 7 at 7:00 PM and Sacramento State on Jan. 13 at 2:00 PM.