Written by Jon Match.
Coming off of the 19th hardest non-conference schedule in the nation, the Bengals wasted no time reminding the conference why they are the returning Big Sky Champions.
Behind double-digit scoring Montana Oltrogge, Tomekia Whitman, Finley Garnett and Anaya Bernard, the orange and black routed Portland State 83-40 Thursday evening at the Viking Pavilion in Portland. The Vikings jumped out quickly to a 4-0 lead with 7:53 to play in the first period. The Bengals quickly responded with an Estefania Ors three-pointer to make the game 4-3 and a Whitman layup off the Viking turnover to give the Bengals the first lead of the night at 5-4.
The Orange and Black would take the lead and never look back, holding the lead from 6:49 in the first quarter until the end of the game. At the end of the first, the Bengals finished the quarter with an 18-13 lead. In the second, the Bengals held the Vikings to the second-lowest quarter production of the game, nine points. Less than a minute into the second quarter, Oltrogge hit her second three of the night to give the Bengals a nine-point 22-13 lead.
The Bengals stretched the lead with 34 seconds to play in the half with a steal and made layup by Whitman, The Bengals would take a 13-point 35-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bengals continued to press the attack in the third, growing the lead to as high as 24 with 2:13 to play when Whitman grabbed her own rebound and put it in, giving the Bengals a 52-28 lead. The highlight of the period came with just four seconds left on the clock. Dora Goles stole the ball off the Portland State defender, crossing the court in just three seconds, the Graduate Guard made the layup as the buzzer sounded giving the Bengals a 58-35 lead heading into the final period.
Not slowing down as they entered the final 10 minutes of the game, the Bengals defense found its stride and the Orange and Black held the Vikings to five fourth quarter points, a season best for the Bengals. After 40, the Bengals came out of Viking Pavilion with the 83-40 win.
Whitman recorded the first double-double of the season for the Orange and Black. She had 12 points on six-of-11 shooting from the field with 11 rebounds. Continuing her impressive game, she also added four assists and two steals to her stat line. Oltrogge led the Bengals with 23 points on eight-of-17 from the field, two-of-five from behind the three-point line. Garnet just missed the double-double with 16 points and eight boards.
The Team shot 47.2 percent from the field on 34-of-72 from the field. On the glass, the Bengals dominated all 40 minutes, out rebounding the Vikings 50 to 26. The Bengals set a new team record with 23 offensive boards. Whitman and Garnett combining for 11 of them.
Every single Bengal that played in the game had at least one offensive and one defensive rebound. The Bengals won the turnover battle 18-10, scoring 20 points off of those turnovers.
The Orange and Black controlled the paint, scoring 48 of the 83 points under the basket. ISU’s bench also shined, scoring 24 of the teams 83 points.
The Bengals finish up their six-game road trip on Saturday as they head to Flagstaff to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. MT. Mark Liptak will be on the call and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with livstats available.
