POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State women's basketball goes back on the road Wednesday afternoon to face the Utah State Aggies. Tipoff in Logan is set for 4:00 PM MT on the PAC-12 Youtube Channel
The Bengals have won two straight after a 64-51 home win over Cal Poly on Monday. ISU trailed only briefly in the second quarter and pulled away by closing the third quarter on a 9-0 run, capped by Aspen Caldwell's 3-pointer with one second left. Caldwell led the Bengals with a season-high 18 points, and Maggie Hutka added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds. Freshman Krystal Arnason grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds with three blocks, and Ása Wolfram went 6-of-6 from the line in her season debut. ISU outrebounded Cal Poly 36-20 and outscored the Mustangs 28-20 in the paint. Seton Sobolewski is in his 19th season as the winningest coach in program history with a 307-249 record.
Idaho State leads the all-time series 19-17 and won the last meeting 85-61 in Pocatello on Nov. 28, 2020. Wednesday is the 37th meeting between the programs and the 18th in Logan, where the Bengals are 5-12. ISU's last win in Logan was 64-52 on Dec. 11, 2010, and the Bengals are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
Quick Look at Utah State
Utah State is 1-2 in its first season in the Pac-12 and third under head coach Wesley Brooks. The Aggies beat Westminster 61-45, then lost 70-45 to LMU and 118-40 at No. 3 USC on Sunday.
Freshman forward Nicole Ogun, who played professionally in Finland, leads the Aggies with 11.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and posted 19 points and 11 rebounds in her debut. Senior Kylani Rookstool, a transfer from Western Oregon, averages 10.3 points and has a team-high four 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Sami Mancini (6-5) adds 10.0 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds off the bench.
Utah State is averaging 48.7 points per game and shooting .371 from the field and .132 from 3-point range (5-of-38). The Aggies are committing 21.3 turnovers per game, including 31 against LMU, and have been outrebounded by 8.3 per game. Opponents are averaging 77.7 points per game, though the Aggies allowed 57.5 per game in their two home games.
Bengal Bites
Idaho State leads the Big Sky and ranks 30th nationally with 6.0 blocks per game. Arnason leads the league with 10 blocks, and her 3.33 per game rank ninth nationally.
Opponents are shooting .287 from the field and .194 from 3-point range against Idaho State. Both marks rank among the top three in the Big Sky.
Caldwell leads ISU with 12.7 points per game, more than triple her career average entering the season.
Idaho State's freshmen have scored 96 of the Bengals' 193 points this season.
Ball security is the matchup to watch. ISU is averaging 18.0 turnovers per game, and Utah State is committing 21.3 per game.
Hutka has 886 career points and 469 career rebounds. She is 114 points shy of 1,000 and 31 rebounds shy of 500.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
19-17: Idaho State's all-time series lead over Utah State.
5-12: ISU's all-time record in Logan.
6.0: Blocks per game for Idaho State, the most in the Big Sky.
21.3: Turnovers per game for Utah State.
36-20: ISU's rebounding edge against Cal Poly.
31: Rebounds Hutka needs to reach 500 for her career.
307: Career wins for Sobolewski, most in program history.
