Top-Seeded Bengals Advance Over Portland State
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BOISE, Idaho (March 9, 2021) -- The top-seeded Idaho State Bengals advanced to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament on Tuesday afternoon, as they knocked off the Portland State Vikings 66-50 inside Idaho Central Arena.
"We played well today," co-coach of the year Seton Sobolewski said about ISU's performance. "We handled the ball well, we got good shots, we were able to get the ball inside, and we played great defense, especially in that first half. We played some exceptional defense, and I thought that really set the tone for the game."
The Bengals started the opening quarter on a 6-0 run, leading to the Vikings calling timeout. As both teams got settled in, the contest remained close, and the Bengals held a 13-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
Idaho State started taking control in the second quarter, building a 15-point advantage by halftime.
At the break, the Bengals were led in scoring by Delaney Moore, who had 10 points over the opening 20 minutes. Despite Moore's scoring effort, she was not the leading scorer of the game at half as PSU's Tatiana Streun dropped in 12 by the break.
In the third quarter, the Vikings got a big boost from third-team all-conference performer Desirae Hansen, who knocked down three-consecutive triples to pull PSU back within five. However, after that point, the Bengals responded with a 10-0 run to build their lead back to a comfortable 44-29 advantage.
ISU held a 50-32 lead after three quarters.
The Vikings outscored the Bengals 18-16 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the top seed.
Moore closed out the game as the leading scorer for ISU with 18 points. Montana Oltrogge was second for ISU in the scoring column with 12.
ISU shot 55 percent from the field as a team and held the Vikings to 29 percent.
The Bengals also held a large advantage down low, outscoring the Vikings 32-14 in the paint.
Streun closed out the game as the leading scorer for the Vikings, finishing with 19 points. She also had four steals and two blocks.
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