Denim Millward
Sports Editor
A few short weeks ago I wrote a midseason report for the Idaho State University women’s basketball team in which I delved into the disappointing year the Bengals were having, and how the season appeared to be a rebuilding one that would fall short of the lofty expectations the perpetually successful program had set for itself.
I was completely, unequivocally and absolutely wrong, and I’m happy to admit it.
Since the writing of the article, the majority of which was done at least two days prior to the Jan. 22 publish date of that issue of “The Bengal,” Head Coach Seton Sobolewski’s squad has caught fire and gone on an absolute tear, winning five of six contests.
Appropriately enough, the most recent victory, an 82-72 victory over Northern Arizona on Feb. 1, was Sobolewski’s 94th win with the team, making him the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach at Idaho State.
So what has been the key to the Bengals’ about-face? Frankly, it’s difficult to say.
There’s no glaring improvement that jumps out in the box scores, though the numbers are almost all improved across the board.
The continued consistency of offensive production by senior team leaders Lindsey Reed and Jessica Tingey have certainly been a big factor in the team’s newly found success.
It would be a huge oversight, however, to not mention the huge contributions of junior guard Rebecca Schrimpsher.
Schrimpsher’s impressive run began against Weber State on Jan. 20. With the score tied at 58, nearly all the fans in attendance had to be expecting Reed, who led the Bengals in scoring that game with 22 points, to take the final shot.
Instead, Reed found an open Schrimpsher, who made just her second field goal of the game to give the Bengals the win. Two games later, Schrimpsher scored a career-high 18 points, including a sizzling four of six from beyond the arc, to lead the Bengals past Montana State in Bozeman on Jan. 25.
Senior guard Sheryl Bitter has also come on strong recently and has made significant contributions to the current win streak.
The impressive performance by the squad has put them in a position I never thought they’d be in: half of a game behind second place in the Big Sky and smack dab in the middle of a crowded, competitive conference.
With ten games remaining, the Bengals have ample opportunity to rise above the middle of the conference and set themselves apart from the other teams in the logjam.
Their recent performance gives a strong indication they also possess the ability to do so.
Though a long shot, it’s not out of the question that the Bengals could catch, and, possibly, even overtake North Dakota, which sits atop the conference with a 9-2 conference record. In its first and only meeting up to this point, ISU lost a heartbreaker to North Dakota by a single point.
Contrary to my initial prediction, the immediate future for the women’s basketball team appears bright.
If the current trend continues, the Bengals should find themselves with a favorable conference tournament seeding and a real shot of winning the whole thing.
Did I mention I was wrong about that?
