BYU Pulls Away from Idaho State in Season Opener

Idaho St. ISU 0-1,0-0 Big Sky

BYU BYU 1-0,0-0 Big 12

Idaho St. ISU

0-1,0-0 Big Sky

Final

Nov. 03, 2026

BYU BYU

1-0,0-0 Big 12

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Idaho St. ISU	16	8	13	13	50
BYU BYU	11	14	23	19	67

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 11/3/2026 9:53:00 PM

PROVO, Utah – Idaho State led for nearly 15 minutes and went into halftime down one, but BYU turned 20 Bengal turnovers into 28 points and pulled away in the second half for a 67-50 win Tuesday night at the Marriott Center.

The Bengals (0-1) opened the season with two returners and three newcomers in the starting lineup. Clare Valentine and Jazzy Wilkerson made their first collegiate starts.

"That was a good experience for our young team," Idaho State head coach Seton Sobolewski said.

Maggie Hutka led Idaho State with 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Valentine added 11 points and six rebounds, and Krystal Arnason scored seven off the bench. Delaney Gibb led BYU (1-0) with 17 points.

BYU opened with a 5-0 lead before Hutka scored Idaho State's first points of the season on a 3-pointer at the 8:40 mark. She followed with a hook shot to tie it at 5-5. Valentine scored her first career points on a step-back 3 at 6:02 that gave the Bengals an 8-7 lead. After BYU went back in front 11-10, Idaho State closed the quarter on a 6-0 run. Aspen Caldwell scored on a driving layup and Hutka finished with two baskets off turnovers for a 16-11 lead. Hutka had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, and the Bengals shot 50 percent (7-of-14) in the period while holding BYU to 1-of-11 from 3.

Arnason's free throw early in the second quarter put Idaho State up 17-11, its largest lead of the night. BYU answered with an 8-0 run, six of those points from Mariam Traore, to go up 19-17. Maeva Gauffrenet tied it with two free throws, and Gia Vukona hit a 3 at 3:22 for a 22-19 Bengal lead. BYU scored the next six points, but Valentine drew a foul with six seconds left and made both free throws to cut the deficit to 25-24 at halftime.

Valentine opened the third quarter with a 3 to put Idaho State back in front, 27-25. Hutka blocked two shots in the first two minutes of the half and hit a step-back jumper for a 30-27 lead. Caldwell's free throw at 6:02 put the Bengals up 31-30, their last lead of the game. BYU scored the next nine points on three 3-pointers off turnovers, two from Sydney Benally and one from Kambree Taylor. Idaho State committed eight turnovers in the quarter, and BYU scored 14 points off them while outscoring the Bengals 23-13 in the period to lead 48-37.

BYU stretched the lead to 18 at 55-37 with 7:43 left. Idaho State answered later in the quarter with a 7-0 run. Bojana Radnjic made two free throws, Arnason hit a 3 and Arnason finished a fast-break layup to cut it to 60-50 with 3:06 remaining. BYU scored the final seven points.

"I thought our freshman battled well and showed some great growth as the game progressed," Sobolewski said.

Idaho State shot 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from 3-point range and held BYU to 23.7 percent (9-of-38) from deep. BYU outrebounded the Bengals 51-34, with 23 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points, and outscored Idaho State 30-14 in the paint.

"There were a lot of positives that we can build on for the future," Sobolewski said.

Bengal Bites

Game Stats

Idaho State shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from 3 and 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the line.
BYU shot 33.8 percent (25-of-74), 23.7 percent (9-of-38) from 3 and 80 percent (8-of-10) at the line.
BYU held edges in points off turnovers (28-10), points in the paint (30-14), second-chance points (13-5), fast-break points (14-8) and bench points (25-17).
The game had eight lead changes and five ties. Idaho State led for 14 minutes, 53 seconds.
The Bengals shot 1-of-12 from the field in the second quarter.

Notables

Maggie Hutka scored her first points as a Bengal on a 3-pointer at 8:40 of the first quarter, Idaho State's first basket of the season. The Montana transfer finished with 12 points, eight rebounds (four offensive), two steals and two blocks, with nine points in the first quarter.
Clare Valentine made her first collegiate start and scored her first career points on a step-back 3-pointer at 6:02 of the first quarter that gave Idaho State an 8-7 lead. She finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Krystal Arnason scored her first points as a Bengal on a free throw at 8:55 of the second quarter. She finished with seven points and two blocks in 16 minutes off the bench, including five points during the fourth-quarter run.
Gia Vukona scored her first points as a Bengal on a 3-pointer at 3:22 of the second quarter, assisted by Hutka, for a 22-19 lead.
Emma Bryant scored her first points as a Bengal on two free throws at 0:51 of the third quarter.
Bojana Radnjic scored her first points as a Bengal on a second-chance 3-pointer at 7:13 of the fourth quarter, assisted by Aspen Caldwell.
Jazzy Wilkerson made her first collegiate start and scored her first points as a Bengal on a fast-break 3-pointer off a turnover at 4:50 of the fourth quarter, assisted by Bryant.
Aspen Caldwell had five points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists.