POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State Bengals held off a furious Utah Valley University Wolverine comeback Wednesday night, winning the game 54-50 in Reed Gym. The Bengals relied on clutch free throws at the end of the game to secure the victory.
How it Happened
The Bengals started the game with a deficit at the end of the first quarter. After six first quarter points from Laura Bello, the Wolverines went four-of-eight from three-point range and ended the period with a 16-11 lead in Reed.
The Bengals came out in the second absolutely on fire with 2nd quarter of the season. For 10 minutes the Orange and Black harassed the Wolverines outscoring UVU 24-5 during the period. The Bengals held the Wolverines to zero made field goals during the period and on the opposite end went nine-of-14, 64.3 percent from the floor. Were it not for UVU going five-of-10 from the charity stripe, the Bengals would have held them scoreless.
Tasia Jordan led the team in the period with eight points on four-of-five shooting.
The third quarter was a battle with neither team willing to give an inch. The Bengals scored two points on six-of-15 shooting from the floor with Kacey Spink and Bello splitting the majority of the points in the period.
The final period showed the winning will of the Bengals in the face of adversity.
If the second quarter was one of the best offensive performances of the year, the fourth was one of the worst. The Bengals went completely cold offensively, failing to hit a single field goal in the period.
The Bengals were not going to just roll over and give up though, Whenever they had a chance to go to the line, the Bengals converted, making seven-of-eight free throws awarded in the quarter.
While not hitting shots, the Bengals were ferocious on the glass. With less than 90 seconds to play, Cam Collman grabbed a defensive rebound, this was then followed by extremely physical consecutive offensive boards by Collman and Spink that allowed the Bengals to cut almost a minute left on the clock.
The Game was finally decided when, after UVU grabbed an offensive board with 11 seconds to play, Kacey Spink planted her feet and drew the charge with two seconds left, hitting her free throws and closing out the game and the Bengals win 54-50
Notes
· Laura Bello led the Bengals in scoring with 17 points on six of 14 shooting. She was followed by Tasia Jordan with 12 points on six-of-nine shooting. Bello's 17 points are a season-high for her and the team.
· Kacey Spink had another double-digit game on the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds (Four offensive and nine defensive)
· The Bengals outrebounded the Wolverines 45-32 a +12 margin. The Bengals have now had six-of-eight games played with a plus rebound margin.
· ISU's .765 percentage from the free throw line is the 3rd best game the Bengals have had this season.
· The Bengals had a DI opponent season-high in blocks with 5 during the game.
· The Bengals 0-for-10 fourth is the worst quarter for Idaho State in the 2023-24 season.
· This is the 8th straight win for the Bengals over the Wolverines going back to 2013.
· The 54-50 +4 margin win is the closest game the Bengals and Wolverines have had since UVU defeated Idaho State in 2013 59-56.
Up Next
The Bengals hit the road to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars. Tip is set for December 16 at 2:00 PM MT. Mark Liptak will have the remote broadcast on KISU 91.1 FM and KISU.org