POCATELLO, Idaho – Aspen Caldwell scored a career-high 18 points, 16 of which came after halftime and Idaho State's final nine, as the Bengals pulled away from Cal Poly for a 64-51 women's basketball win Monday night at Reed Gym.

Idaho State (2-1) won its second straight game and picked up its first win over a Division I opponent this season. Maggie Hutka added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds, and Krystal Arnason pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots off the bench. The Bengals outrebounded Cal Poly (2-1) 36-20.

Neither team found its shot early. Cal Poly made 1 of 11 field goals in the first quarter but went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line, and Idaho State led 13-11 after one.

The Mustangs took their last lead at 24-22 on a floater with 3:47 left in the half. Asa Wolfram answered with two free throws, Clare Valentine scored four points on one trip with a fast-break layup and two free throws, and Wolfram added two more from the line. The 8-0 run put Idaho State up 30-24, and the Bengals led 31-28 at the break.

Idaho State shot 8 of 13 in the third quarter. Valentine's 3-pointer made it 36-28, and after Cal Poly closed to 41-39 on a layup, the Bengals scored the next 12 points. Hutka finished a layup off her own steal, Arnason ran out for a fast-break layup, and Caldwell scored on a drive after an Arnason steal. Caldwell then hit a 3-pointer with one second left in the quarter, assisted by Emma Bryant, for a 50-39 lead. Bryant's free throws early in the fourth extended the run and the lead to 53-39.

Cal Poly cut the margin to 55-46 on a 3-pointer with 4:12 to play. Caldwell answered with a baseline pull-up jumper and the free throw at 3:08, a driving layup and the free throw at 1:46, and three more free throws in the final 1:16.

The Bengals held Cal Poly to 16-of-50 shooting (32%) and 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Idaho State shot 21 of 48 and 3 of 21 from deep, but outscored the Mustangs 28-20 in the paint and 18-9 in points off turnovers.

Head coach Seton Sobolewski

On the win: "I'm very proud of them. It could've easily went the other way, with us being so inexperienced and them being more experienced than us, and having some portal transfers that played in the Big East and played in bigger conferences. But very proud of our effort. I thought we got it done on the defensive end again. It definitely wasn't our three-point shooting. We made the right plays at the right times, and followed the scout pretty good. We're growing. That was a really healthy game for us."

On the slow start: "I think it's us. We got a lot of great open shots early. We just didn't make 'em, and we didn't get anything going at the basket right away. But then we kind of figured out what was gonna work for us and made it happen."

On Caldwell's late and-ones: "That developed on its own, and it was great to see. That's what you'd want to see out of Aspen. She's our experienced point guard, taking the tough shots, the brave shots, and making 'em."

On Cal Poly's physicality and Idaho State's 24 fouls: "They were aggressive. They were going at the basket. They drove the ball. They did a great job of drawing contact and sometimes dumping off to the post, and then we fouled. It was definitely Cal Poly generating those opportunities for themselves."

On Arnason: "She's long and lanky, and she pursues things, and she jumps pretty good. She's just kind of deceiving. She can have her hands down and be off of you, and you think you're safe to shoot, and then you shoot, and then she can unfold and block your shot."

On Wolfram's season debut: "I thought Asa did great. Now she's moving better. She's keeping up with what's going on out there. We're so happy to have her back. We need that sub. We need that extra person to help."

On early-season surprises: "A lot of them have. Maggie giving us a little bit of a low post presence. Clare and Jazzy's confidence. The impact that Emma's making with her defense. Krystal doing so many things this early. ... I did not anticipate being this far ahead."

On playing Utah State, 90 minutes from Pocatello: "We love it. We're so used to traveling and flying everywhere. ... Everything is a long bus ride to then a long flight to another bus ride, especially in Big Sky Conference play. So I'd love to play more local games, and take some of that wear and tear that you get from travel."

Bengal Bites

Game Stats

• Aspen Caldwell led all scorers with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting and 5-of-6 free throws. She had 16 in the second half, 9 in the fourth quarter, and scored Idaho State's last nine points.
• Maggie Hutka had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, eight rebounds and two blocks. Idaho State was plus-20 with her on the floor, the best mark in the game.
• Clare Valentine added 10 points and six rebounds. Emma Bryant had a career-high five rebounds.
• Krystal Arnason had a career-high 11 rebounds (nine defensive), three blocks, two assists, a steal and five points off the bench.
• Asa Wolfram scored eight points in 11 minutes in her season debut, making all six of her free throws to tie the career high she set at Cal Poly on Dec. 13, 2025.
• Bojana Radnjic set career highs with a team-best four assists and four rebounds, and went 2-for-2 from the field.
• Idaho State won the glass 36-20, including 12-6 on the offensive end, and held edges of 28-20 in the paint, 18-9 in points off turnovers, 8-2 in fast-break points and 6-3 in blocks.
• Cal Poly shot 32% from the field and made 1 of 11 shots in the first quarter.

Notables

• Idaho State is 2-0 at Reed Gym and has won two straight.
• The Bengals led for 33:50 of the game's 40 minutes. Their 12-0 run, which spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, was the longest by either team.
• Hutka has eight rebounds in each of Idaho State's three games.
• Arnason has 10 blocks through three games.
• Attendance: 705.

Up Next

Idaho State opens a stretch of road games Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Utah State. Jason Alvine will have the radio call on KISU (91.1 FM).