Denim Millward
Sports Editor
Amidst a sea of fans speckled with pink and with her team down by two, Idaho State University senior guard Jasmine Lemon caught the inbounds pass, pirouetted and hurled up a desperation shot.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Lemon’s shot was nothing but net.
The ensuing jubilation from the crowd fit in well with the overall theme of the night: celebration.
The pink accouterments, ranging from warm-up shirts worn by the players to the bright pink whistles used by the officials, were worn in celebration of the Play 4Kay movement, which was founded to raise awareness and fight all forms of cancers occurring in women.
“We’re really happy to be a part of this to try to make an impact on women’s cancers,” Idaho State women’s basketball head coach Seton Sobolewski said. “We’ve had a chance to be a part of three pink games now this year, and this by far was the best one.”
Prior to the beginning of the game, 15 cancer survivors were honored at mid-court.
An ISU women’s basketball player accompanied each cancer survivor.
For one Bengal, the opportunity was special for an entirely different reason.
Freshman forward Megan Hochstein was all smiles as she presented her assigned cancer survivor, who happened to be her mother, prior to the game.
“My mother is one of the nicest, most amazing people you’ll ever meet,” Hochstein said. “Everybody loves her, and for good reason, so it was just nice to finally have her recognized since she’s not big on publicity.”
The feel-good story of the Bengals eventual victory was not without its fair share of tension and drama. The Bengals got off to a slow start, trailing by as many as 13 points before eventually clawing their way back to within four at halftime, trailing 42 to 38.
Led by Jasmine Lemon’s team-high 27-point effort, the Bengals kept pace with the Montana State Bobcats in what turned out to be a very physical second half.
The physicality and tension of the contest came to a climax with under three seconds to play.
With the Bengals down by two, Lemon lofted a floater that rimmed, which was then snagged by Montana State’s Jackie Elliott. While the miss and subsequent rebound looked to shut the door on Idaho State’s chances, After being fouled by junior forward Anna Lee Policicchio to stop the clock, Elliott swung her elbow into Policicchio’s face, sending her sprawling.
After a lengthy video review by the officials, it was determined that the Bobcats and the Bengals were both entitled to two free throws, with the Bengals ultimately receiving possession of the ball. Elliott made one of two free throws for the Bobcats, and that result was matched by ISU’s junior guard Apiphany Woods.
Lemon then capitalized on the Bengals eleventh-hour opportunity and made the circus shot to send the game to overtime.
Buoyed by Lemon’s miracle shot, the Bengals overwhelmed the Bobcats, hitting a barrage of threes and outscoring Montana State 18 to 5 in the overtime period to seal the 87-74 victory.
“It was probably one of my top three games since I’ve been here,” senior guard Rebecca Schrimpsher said of the contest. “Everyone was just on the same page. It’s hard to take it all in.”
The win gives the Idaho State Bengals sole possession of seventh place in the Big Sky Conference and was crucial in keeping the Bengals hopes of making the post-season conference tournament alive.
The Bengals play their final home game February 28, when they will host Weber State at Reed Gym at 2 p.m.
A road trip up north for a matchup against Eastern Washington March 5 will complete the Bengals’ regular season. The penultimate contest and season finale matchup against in-state rival University of Idaho will take place in Moscow March 7.
