POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State forced 20 turnovers, scored 35 fast-break points and held Westminster to 11-of-57 shooting in a 79-30 win in the Bengals' home opener Friday night at Reed Gym.

Four Bengals scored in double figures. Aspen Caldwell led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds, Clare Valentine added 14 points and eight rebounds, Jazzy Wilkerson finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Emma Bryant scored 11 off the bench with five assists and four steals.

Westminster's 30 points were the fewest Idaho State has allowed since Feb. 4, 1978, and the fewest in head coach Seton Sobolewski's 19 seasons. The 49-point margin is the 10th-largest in program history.

Idaho State (1-1) won the paint 58-16, the glass 49-29 and points off turnovers 24-8. Westminster shot 2 of 18 from 3-point range.

Westminster scored first on a layup, and Maggie Hutka's tip-in tied it at 2. Caldwell's floater at the 6:55 mark put Idaho State ahead for good, and the Bengals' pressure took over from there. Leading 10-4, ISU scored 12 straight points, six of them from Krystal Arnason on layups after steals, to go up 22-4. The Bengals had seven steals and 17 fast-break points in the first quarter and led 26-7 after 10 minutes.

Idaho State took a 42-18 lead into halftime after shooting 19 of 39 in the first half with 25 fast-break points.

The Bengals opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run. Hutka scored twice inside, Valentine finished in transition, Caldwell made four straight free throws and Bryant's layup made it 54-18 with 3:40 left in the quarter. Westminster went 1 of 17 from the floor in the third and did not score from the final 26 seconds of the first half until the 2:18 mark of the third. Wilkerson's fast-break 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in the quarter sent ISU into the fourth up 62-20.

Wilkerson scored seven points in the fourth quarter. Midway through the period, Idaho State went to an all-true-freshman lineup of Gia Vukona, Arnason, Valentine, Wilkerson and Bryant. That group played 5:05 and outscored Westminster 8-3. Valentine's driving layup with 1:40 left gave the Bengals their largest lead at 79-25.

Arnason made 4 of 5 shots for eight points and added nine rebounds, five blocks and five steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Hutka had eight points and eight rebounds, and Bojana Radnjic added seven points, three assists and three steals.

Head coach Seton Sobolewski

On the overall performance:
"I thought we played really hard. That was the goal. I thought defensively we did a good job of disrupting some things and giving us a lot of early transition baskets, especially in the first quarter. A lot of growth from the BYU game, from our exhibition game. We're getting better and better. It was a good first game."

On the pace and pressure:
"I think when the matchup allows us to, we'll probably try to pressure a little bit more and play a little bit faster. I don't think you're gonna be able to do that every game. I think there's some people that, their athleticism will be at a level that it'll be more difficult. But I do like our length. Even if we don't pressure, we got length that covers up gaps. They can disrupt. And I think there's a couple people that naturally have some good defensive instincts."

On the freshmen:
"I think it's been pretty low pressure for them so far, but they've done a great job. They have some great confidence. I think athletically they're keeping up for the most part in a lot of different ways. And they're growing. They're getting their feet under themselves, and they're figuring it out. It's good to see. A booster of ours was texting with me the other day, and he said, 'You have some good bones.' You got a good foundation. You got some good framework there, and hopefully we can keep building it."

On Krystal Arnason:
"She's from Australia. A little town near Melbourne, Australia. She's got a great feel for the game, and back in her youth league back home she was MVP and defensive MVP. She's still learning. She's not even approached her ceiling in terms of understanding how to play. She's just got some really, really good natural ability."

On Cal Poly:
"They have a brand-new team too. They had quite a bit of turnover as well. We'll be their first Division I opponent. They're showing some really good athleticism, some really good early team chemistry. They can pressure you and press a little bit. They have a couple of different presses. It's gonna be tough. It's two new teams playing each other."

Bengal Bites

Game Stats

• Idaho State shot 33 of 66 from the floor and 9 of 14 from the free-throw line.
• The Bengals had 17 assists on 33 made baskets and 17 steals.
• ISU outscored Westminster 35-6 on the fast break, 58-16 in the paint and 14-7 on second-chance points.
• Idaho State's bench outscored Westminster's 23-13.
• The Bengals blocked eight shots, five by Arnason.
• Idaho State led for 36:55 of the 40 minutes.

Notables

• Westminster's 30 points rank as the fifth-fewest allowed in program history.
• Westminster's 12 second-half points are the second-fewest Idaho State has allowed in a second half this century.
• Idaho State improved to 5-0 all-time against Westminster.
• The win was the 306th of Sobolewski's career and the 712th in program history.
• An all-true-freshman lineup of Vukona, Arnason, Valentine, Wilkerson and Bryant played 5:05 in the fourth quarter and outscored Westminster 8-3.
• Wilkerson's 12 points and 10 rebounds gave her a double-double. She also had two assists and two steals and finished plus-44.
• Valentine played a team-high 31:47 and finished plus-45.
• Caldwell drew four fouls and made 5 of 8 free throws.
• Bryant's five assists and four steals both led the team.
• Westminster scored two points in the third quarter on 1-of-17 shooting.

Up Next

Idaho State hosts Cal Poly on Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at Reed Gym. The game airs on ESPN+ with Jason Alvine on the call. The Bengals lead the all-time series 5-1 and have won five straight, including a 62-49 win at Cal Poly last Dec. 13.