LOGAN, Utah - Idaho State held Utah State to 9 points in the first half, the fewest the Bengals have allowed in a half to a Division I opponent in program history, on the way to a 54-41 win Wednesday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Bengals (3-1) won their third straight game and led 32-9 at halftime. Utah State went 2 of 18 from the floor in the first half, the worst shooting half by an Idaho State opponent in at least the Seton Sobolewski era. The Aggies scored 3 points in the second quarter, the fewest Idaho State has allowed in a quarter to a Division I opponent in program history.

Aspen Caldwell led Idaho State with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Maggie Hutka added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Jazzy Wilkerson scored nine points on three 3-pointers.

Utah State won the opening tip, but its layup missed and Caldwell pulled down the rebound. Caldwell opened the scoring with a jumper at the 8:55 mark. Utah State's 3-pointer at 8:34 gave the Aggies their only lead of the game at 3-2, and Hutka's layup off a Caldwell assist at 7:34 put Idaho State ahead for good.

Skylie Barker went coast to coast for a layup at 5:23 of the first quarter for her first points as a Bengal and her first Division I points. Late in the quarter, Caldwell and Krystal Arnason each scored on fast-break layups after steals, and Arnason finished a three-point play to make it 15-6. Idaho State shot 7 of 10 in the first quarter and led 16-6 after 10 minutes. Utah State went 1 of 11.

Wilkerson opened the second quarter with the Bengals' first 3-pointer of the game, and after a Utah State layup at 9:03 the Aggies did not score again for more than seven minutes. Idaho State scored 11 straight points in that stretch. Hutka scored on a tip-in, Clare Valentine made a 3 after a steal, Asa Wolfram and Hutka scored inside and Arnason hit a jumper to make it 30-8. Utah State ended the drought with a free throw at the 1:44 mark, and Arnason's jumper made it 32-9 at the half. Idaho State shot 14 of 20 in the first half.

Wilkerson's 3-pointer at 9:00 of the third quarter gave the Bengals their largest lead at 35-11. Utah State outscored Idaho State 19-11 in the quarter. Barker ended a scoring drought of more than five minutes for the Bengals with her first career Division I 3-pointer at the 2:00 mark, and Idaho State took a 43-28 lead into the fourth.

Wilkerson opened the fourth quarter with a 3, and the Aggies got no closer than 13 the rest of the way. Bojana Radnjic's layup and a Hutka layup off a Caldwell assist pushed the lead to 52-31 with 3:04 to play.

Idaho State shot 22 of 39 (56 percent) from the floor and 6 of 14 from 3-point range. Utah State shot 11 of 52 (21 percent) and 3 of 14 from deep. The Bengals won the paint 26-14 and had 15 assists to the Aggies' four.

Assistant coach Sydney Bourland

On the game plan against Utah State's post players:

"We knew that they had a great post presence down there, so we definitely had a game plan to double them down low, and we did. We executed that very well."

On how the defense has come together early in the season:

"We definitely rely heavily on our seniors, like Aspen and Maggie, and then we have a great bunch of freshmen that are learning... They're doing a great job for us on defense."

On Jazzy Wilkerson's 3-point shooting:

"It was great to see Jazzy hit some threes. She hits them in practice, and she works so hard at it, so it's great to see it go in in game."

On Aspen Caldwell:

"She's a senior with a lot of experience. She's one of our most experienced guards, and she can really hold us steady, get us in the offense that we need to do, and she's been doing a great job scoring the ball as well, which we love to see."

On Skylie Barker:

"Great minutes from Skylie. She's gonna be a great addition to our team as we go onto this road trip."

Bengal Bites

Game stats

• Caldwell made 6 of 10 shots for 13 points and added five rebounds and five assists.
• Hutka made 4 of 5 shots for nine points and grabbed eight rebounds with two steals.
• Wilkerson made 3 of 4 from 3-point range for all nine of her points.
• Arnason had seven points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals off the bench, and Idaho State outscored Utah State by 14 with her on the floor.
• Valentine had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Idaho State outrebounded Utah State 34-28, and the Bengals' bench outscored the Aggies' 16-6.
• Idaho State led for 37:55 of the 40 minutes.
• Utah State had 15 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points. Idaho State committed 28 turnovers.

Notables

• Utah State's 9 first-half points are the fewest Idaho State has allowed in a half to a Division I opponent in program history.
• Utah State's 3 second-quarter points are the fewest Idaho State has allowed in a quarter to a Division I opponent in program history. The Bengals held Westminster to 2 third-quarter points in the home opener.
• Utah State's 2-of-18 first half is the worst an opponent has shot against Idaho State in at least the Sobolewski era.
• Utah State's 41 points are the fewest the Aggies have scored against Idaho State in 37 all-time meetings.
• The win was Idaho State's first at Utah State since a 64-52 win on Dec. 11, 2010.
• Idaho State leads the all-time series 20-17 and has won 10 of the last 13 meetings, including the last two.
• Idaho State has won three straight games since its season-opening loss at BYU.
• Barker scored her first Division I points and made her first Division I 3-pointer.

Up Next

The Bengals continue the roadtrip as they head out to Vermillion, South Dakota to take on the USD Coyotes, Sunday Nov. 15 at 1:00 PM. The game will be broadcast on MidcoSports Plus and Jason Alvine will have the call on KISU and KISU.org