POCATELLO, Idaho - King Spud is staying in Pocatello! The Idaho State women's basketball team completed the season sweep of rival Idaho with a 75-69 win over the Vandals.
The Bengals improve to 12-15 on the year, 7-9 in conference play and have now won four out of their last five games.
Coach Sobolewski after the Win
Piper Carlson and Tasia Jordan after the Win
The game tipped and for the first two minutes it was all Idaho, the Vandals jumped to a 7-0 lead over the Bengals, who also quickly picked up two fouls. The Vandal lead would be short lived, as the Bengals chipped away with a three-pointer by Sophia Covello and a layup by Piper Carlson.
Up 14-10 on the Benagls with 4:28 to go in the first, The Bengals hit back-to-back shots from Nika Lokica and another Covello 3, taking a 15-14 lead that the Bengals would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
While the margin was razor thin for the remainder of the game, the Bengals outscored the Vandals in three of the four quarters.
The fast-paced first quarter that the Benagls won, 21-18 was contrasted by a slowed down, grinding 2nd period. The Bengals outscored the Vandals 13-12 in the final 10 of the first half with Tasia Jordan scoring almost half of the Bengals' points. Maria Dias hit the only trey of the 2nd quarter, her 2nd of the half.
Idaho finished the half on a 5-0 run and the Bengals took a 34-30 lead into the locker room.
The Benagls and Vandals continued the battle in Pocatello in the 3rd quarter. The two squads both scored 17 points in the period. Tasia Jordan continued to lead the Bengal scoring effort, but was bolstered by Piper Carlson scoring six.
They say games are won or lost at the free throw line, the Bengals proved it tonight, scoring 17 of their 24 4th quarter points from the charity stripe.
Kacey Spink and Nika Lokica came up clutch for the Orange and Black. Spink went 4-6 from the line and Lokica a dominant 7-8. Aby and Covello also taked on three makes at the line.
Though the Vandals were able to cut the lead to five points with 38 seconds to play, the Bengals hit their chances and kept the game out of reach to secure the 75-69 win.
The Bengals shot 25-53 from the field in the game, 47.2 percent. From three, the Bengals hit 53.8 percent of their attempts (7-13).
Idaho State played a clean game, only committing 11 turnovers to Idaho's 15. The Bengals defense led to 23 fast break points, while also shutting down the Vandal offense, only allowing eight fast break points from the opponent.
Piper Carlson had another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Tasia Jordan led the scoring with 16 points on eight-of-15 shooting. Kacey Spink had nine rebounds and 11 points. Alyse Aby scored 12 points and Sophia Covello, 10 before fouling out in the 4th.
Up Next
The Bengals' destiny is in their own hands for seeding in the Big Sky Tournament. The Bengals welcome Eastern Washington to Reed Gym Saturday for a pivotal clash with the Eagles. It's senior da,y and ISU will be honoring its lone senior, Maria Dias prior to the game. Tip is set for 2:00 PM MT.
