Idaho State Gamenotes | BYU Gamenotes | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
Idaho State (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky) at BYU (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) |
Provo, Utah | 7:00 PM MT - Tipoff on ESPN+
Listen: KISU 91.1 FM | KISU.org (Jason Alvine)
POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State women's basketball is set to open the 2026-27 taking on the BYU Cougars. Tipoff at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, is set for 7:00 PM MT on ESPN+.
The Bengals are coming off a 19-11 season and a 12-6 Big Sky mark, and they begin the year with a new-look roster. Eleven of the 15 players are newcomers, five transfers and six freshmen, and the roster represents seven countries. Senior point guard Aspen Caldwell leads a group of four returners that also includes sophomores Maeva Gauffrenet, Ása Wolfram and Milena Sucacuexe. Seton Sobolewski begins his 19th season as the winningest coach in program history with a 305-248 record.
BYU leads the all-time series 16-3 and has won seven straight meetings. Tuesday is the 20th meeting between the programs. Idaho State's last win came 58-56 in Pocatello on Dec. 28, 2000. Each of the last three meetings was decided by nine points or fewer, including a 79-76 overtime BYU win in Provo in 2023. In last season's 68-59 loss in Provo, the Bengals outrebounded the Cougars 57-31, the most rebounds BYU allowed all season, but committed 25 turnovers.
Quick Look at BYU
BYU went 26-12 last season, including 9-9 in Big 12 play, 17-3 in nonconference games and 15-4 at home. Lee Cummard enters his second season as head coach.
The Cougars return seven players who scored last season, accounting for 72.3 percent of their scoring. Junior guard Delaney Gibb leads the way after averaging 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists. She has 1,070 career points and scored a season-high 37 at Utah. Sophomore guard Olivia Hamlin averaged 12.9 points and scored 22 against Idaho State last season. BYU lost center Lara Rohkohl, who averaged 8.2 points and 6.9 rebounds and led the team with 61 blocks, and Marya Hudgins (9.1 ppg).
BYU's newcomers include two freshmen from Brisbane State High School in Australia, Prasayus Notoa and Vahayliah Seumanutafa. The roster also has an eastern Idaho flavor with Rigby's Kambree Taylor and Shelley's Brinley Cannon.
BYU averaged 70.6 points and 14.3 assists per game last season, shooting .409 from the field and making 8.0 3-pointers per game. Defensively, the Cougars allowed 64.4 points per game and held opponents to .369 shooting and .274 from 3-point range, while averaging 4.6 blocks and 9.8 steals.
Bengal Bites
Only four Bengals are back from last season. Idaho State's top five scorers have all departed: Tasia Jordan (15.3 ppg), Piper Carlson (10.8), Kacey Spink (9.5), Sophia Covello (8.5) and Alyse Aby (6.8).
Caldwell, Gauffrenet and Wolfram accounted for 21.7 percent of Idaho State's scoring last season (428 of 1,969 points).
Caldwell took over at point guard six games into last season and started 22 games, including all 16 Big Sky games she played. In league play she averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 assists while shooting .424 from the field. The Idaho Falls native is the only Idaho product on the roster.
Idaho State allowed a Big Sky-low 31.6 rebounds per game last season and ranked second in the league in scoring defense (60.6), field goal percentage defense (.375) and rebounding margin (+7.0).
Eight Bengals come from outside the United States, representing France, New Zealand, Montenegro, Australia, Portugal and Iceland. That is double last season's four international players.
Freshman Gia Vukona played at Brisbane State High School, the same program that produced BYU freshmen Notoa and Seumanutafa. Vukona won back-to-back Australian High School National Championships there.
Graduate transfer Lilly Parke started all 64 games she played in two seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, averaging 9.7 points. She is 10 games shy of 100 for her career.
Senior Maggie Hutka has 854 career points between Colorado Christian and Montana, 146 shy of 1,000. She averaged 20.2 points as a sophomore at Colorado Christian.
Sophomore Skylie Barker was a third-team NJCAA All-American at Utah State Eastern in 2024-25, averaging 14.1 points.
Gauffrenet led Idaho State with 32 3-pointers as a freshman.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
16-3: BYU's all-time series lead.
20: All-time meetings between the programs, including Tuesday.
305: Career wins for Sobolewski, most in program history.
11: Newcomers on Idaho State's 15-player roster.
7: Countries represented on the Bengal roster.
57: Rebounds for Idaho State at BYU last season, the most the Cougars allowed all year.
31.6: Rebounds allowed per game by Idaho State last season, fewest in the Big Sky.
1,070: Career points for BYU's Delaney Gibb.
146: Points Hutka needs to reach 1,000 for her career.
