Jenna Larson
Idaho State University Sports Information
SEATTLE, Wash. – The Idaho State women’s basketball team put together its best performance against Power 5 conference team in ISU history Sunday afternoon with a 79-59 rout of No. 25 Washington at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash. It was the first time in program history that Idaho State has defeated a ranked opponent, and it was able to do so by shooting over 60 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three to dismantle the Huskies and remain undefeated on the season.
“That was a great team win,” Head Coach Seton Sobolewski said. “Anytime you can beat a Pac-12 team, it’s a big deal.”
Idaho State (2-0) was led by senior guard Brooke Blair with a career- and game-high 30 points as she finished 12-of-15 from the floor including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Saylair Grandon also finished in double-figures for the Bengals with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds while sophomore forward Sai Tapasa added a game-high 10 rebounds.
“Brooke was on fire,” Sobolewski said. “After scoring 18 in the first half I didn’t know if she could keep it up, but she came out in the second half even tougher.”
The Bengals dominated from the start, starting with a trey from Grandon 30 seconds in to take a 3-0 lead. With three minutes left in the first quarter, Idaho State had extended its lead to seven, 21-14, and 45 seconds later a layup from junior guard Madison Hinrichs gave the Bengals a 10-point lead, 24-14. Yet the Huskies responded and put together an 8-2 run to cut ISU’s lead to four heading into the second period.
Idaho State was unable to keep its offensive momentum in the second as it was plagued by seven second-quarter turnovers. Washington (0-1) scored eight points off the Bengals’ turnovers and collected five offensive rebounds for eight second-chance points. The Huskies closed the gap, outscoring Idaho State 15-14 to cut the Bengals lead to just three by halftime, 40-37.
Washington opened the third quarter with an early layup and took its first lead of the game since the 8:45 mark of the first following a trey from Amber Melgoza with 8:33 remaining in the period. Then, Idaho State took off, outscoring Washington 15-7 over the rest of the third to take an eight-point lead, 55-47, heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Idaho State exploded for 24 points off 6-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Dora Goles scored all seven of her points in the final quarter with a trey and a perfect 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line, while sophomore Estefania Ors also added seven points in the final quarter. The Bengals forced the Huskies to shoot just 21 percent and limited them to 12 points to earn the 79-59 win.
Washington was led by Kierra Collier with 11 points while Melgoza added 10. Both Fapou Semebene and Khayla Rooks finished with a team-high five rebounds.
Idaho State returns to Pocatello for its regular-season home opener, Thursday, Nov. 16 against College of Idaho at 11 a.m. in Reed Gym.
