Hadley Bodell
Sports Editor
With a running record for the Lady Bengals basketball team in their 2023-2024 season of 5-9, fans gathered in Reed’s Gym once again to watch the players take on Sacramento State University.
With five freshmen added to the roster of the Idaho State University Women’s basketball team this year, Head Coach Seton Sobolewski is not afraid to play his best assets on the court to lead the Lady Bengals to victory. Freshmen forward Piper Carlson is one of the newest additions to the squad, stating, “My teammates have been a big part of having such a positive experience on the team as a freshman. They are constantly helping me out, and I’ve learned so many skills from playing with them.”
Coming back from last season’s loss to the Sacramento State Hornets, this season’s game seemed to be nothing short of a close match-up in the first half. The Bengals came out of the gate swinging, grabbing an early lead.
However, ISU’s offense began struggling to make the shots they took, no match for Sacramento’s Irune Orio, who put up several 3-pointers for the Hornets. With a total of 14 fouls in the game, free throws put the Bengals at an advantage, making 12 out of their 14 attempts. This was a highlight for the team, as that’s an 85% free throw success rate for the match, to Sacramento’s 63%.
Leading the pack with 6 points, Carlson and the Bengals ended the first half winning 28-24.
The ISU pep band, dance team, and cheerleading squad all performed at the halftime break. The players then rushed to the locker room for an intense game-planning meeting before quickly reappearing on the court for the rest of the game.
The third quarter brought huge momentum for the ISU women, taking the lead 50-36. Carlson commented, “I think the third quarter was the turning point of the game for us; we came out with great defensive energy after halftime and took the lead from there.”
During the third quarter, junior guard #13 Maria Dias put up a whopping ten points for the Lady Bengals, as well as four points each for #4 Laura Bello and #22 Sophia Covello. It was obvious the girls had created a close game in the first half and were determined to pull away to steal the win for ISU.
The fourth quarter brought the most exciting moments of the game yet to Reed’s Gym. Cameras snapped photos as the players ran, jumped, and scored consistently while fans roared in the stands. Redshirt freshman #11 Nika Lokica was hands-down the most outstanding player of the half, giving the team major momentum with a huge three-point shot which was followed by another two-pointer scored by #1 Kacey Spink.
Leading by ten points with only four minutes left in the game, Lokica and Carlson scored a combined five points in under a minute. The stands shook with cheer as the Bengals made their final push to win the game. Head Coach Sobolewski took the Bengal’s final timeout with just 1:25 remaining, the team with the lead 62-46.
A final score from Sacramento’s star player Orio and a clock-run-out possession from Idaho State ended this whirlwind match. Carlson says the team is able to pull out wins like these because, “I think what really helped us pull through with the win was our defensive effort. We did well with helping on the drives and forced a lot of turnovers for Sacramento.”
She also stated that the defensive effort sparked their offense, which eventually led to a well-rounded game with which Sacramento State couldn’t compete.
The team record now stands at six wins to nine losses.
Make sure to come out to support your Lady Bengals in the rest of their 2024 season, with home games hosted at Reed’s Gym on the ISU campus. Check the ISU Women’s Basketball website and the Bengal Newspaper Upcoming Games section for dates and times of matches.
