POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State Bengals opened the 2024-25 season with a 91-52 win over Arizona Christian University.
The Bengals had five players score in double digits as the Orange and Black took the lead early and held onto it for four quarters.
Coach Sobolewski's Remarks
Piper Carlson led the Bengals in scoring, hitting seven-of-10 field goals and a free throw for 15 points on the night. Carlson showed her offseason growth, physically asserting her dominance under the basket and fighting off the ACU defense to score her layups.
Nika Lokica, Sophia Covello and Maria Dias all scored 14 points in the game. The trio of Bengals combined for nine of the 11 Bengal three-pointers. Covello got the Bengals going early with her threes. Dias was on fire behind the arc, shooting four-of-four.
The Bengal freshmen played a pivotal role in ISU's win. Aurora Elder and Mackenzie Marenchin both scored their first points of their careers Monday evening.
Priscila Varela made her mark, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds off the bench.
Every healthy player for the Bengals saw time on the court Monday evening and all but two scored at least one point.
Overall the bengals shot 34-61 from the field for 55.7 FG% and a dominant 11-22 from three point range, 50 percent. The Bengals three point shooting showing obvious improvement over the 2023-24 campaign.
On the glass, the Bengals had a +23 margin over the Firestorm, snagging 43 rebounds to ACU's 20. ISU had 12 offensive boards while holding their opponent to just 5.
The Bengals dominated the paint, outsourcing the Firestorm 38-16 under the Basket.
Up Next
The Bengals travel to Berkley to take on the CAL Bears Thursday, Nov. 7 at 12:00 PM
