Krystal Geeson

Staff Writer

The Bengals finished in the top four of the Big Sky Tournament on Friday, March 14, at the tournament at the University of North Dakota.

“It was our friendship on and off the court and the heart and hard work that we put in that got us to this tournament. You know, it was an awesome experience and it’s awesome we got to come up here and the youth on our team got to experience this as well,” said Lindsey Reed during the post-game press conference.

The game on March 13 was a battle until the end when ISU defeated Eastern Washington 70-65 in overtime, allowing the team to advance the semifinals.

“I think we played really hard and played with a lot of courage, and that was a big step for us this game,” said Head Coach Seton Sobolewski during the post-game press conference.

“In a sense, we have lost a lot of really close games this year. For us to step up to win in overtime, not get nervous and make big plays, that was big for us,” Sobolewski continued.

ISU’s finish over Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals gave Sobolewski his 100th career win in his six seasons here.

Sobolewski was pleased with his team’s performance against the Eagles.

“[Eastern Washington] had the upper hand to make the adjustments, but we played hard and we defended better than when we played them in Pocatello and made the game competitive,” said Sobolewski.

The Bengals had their momentum soaring going into overtime, and it took the whole team stepping up to make plays.

“Our goal was to score first. We were fired up on defense.  A couple of our bench players made huge plays,” Kara Jenkins said during the press conference.

Reed found herself enclosed by defense in overtime but said she knew other teammates would be open.

“It was just us trying to be positive. In timeouts we kept saying, ‘Let’s be positive and keep playing hard,’” said Reed.

The Bengals knew they would need to focus on rest and recovery for their match-up against the host, North Dakota, the following day.

“[North Dakota hasn’t] lost much at home, and they are going to have a big crowd in support of them. We played them tough twice,” said Sobolewski.

The Bengals finished their season after falling to North Dakota 78-53 in the semifinals.

“I think we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. We have a team made up of players who have great toughness and heart,” said Sobolewski.

“We even shocked ourselves in how much we stepped up this year. There is nothing but to be proud of this team,” said Jenkins.

Sobolewski was proud of the program and the rate in which the team improved over the season.

“I think we really maximized our potential this year,” said Sobolewski.

“I wouldn’t want to go out with any other seniors then the ones that we have on our team. Just being around them has been a great experience and they’re great people and teammates,” said Reed.

“Looking back, it was a good year,” she continued.

Reed earned first-team all-conference.

Jessica Tingey earned honorable mention honors.

The Bengals finished their season 14-17.