Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho State
'Cats Drop Home Game with Bengals
2/1/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Two Idaho State players posting double-doubles and a cold stretch to end the game was too much for Weber State to overcome as ISU pulled out a 64-50 win over the Wildcats Friday night in the Dee Events Center. The loss drops the Wildcats to 8-12 overall and 2-6 in Big Sky Conference play after the first half of the conference season.
Weber State was led by senior Sara Tuomi who scored 24 points and pulled down six rebounds, but it wasn't enough to slow down the Bengals. ISU seniors Andrea Lightfoot and Natalie Doma each added double-doubles to give the Bengals their third straight win in Ogden. Lightfoot finished with a game-high 26 points and added 13 rebounds, while Doma finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. The two players combined for 47 of ISU's 64 points as the Bengals had just four players score in the game.
Idaho State never trailed in the first half and took a 37-29 lead at the break, despite Weber State scoring the last six points of the half. The ?Cats also scored the first eight points of the second half and cut the lead to one point. They took the lead for the first time at 42-40 with 14:00 to play. ISU bounced back and went on a 8-2 run and after a Tuomi field goal with 6:28 to play the Bengals led 55-50. It was then that Weber State went cold as the ?Cats did not score a point for the final 6:28 of the game, missing their final 12 shots of the game.
“It was co close yet so far away for us tonight,” said WSU head coach Carla Taylor. “Our effort was good and we bought into our game plan. I thought we played pretty good defense but it is so tough to stop the weapons that they have. We did a good job on the defensive end, we just needed more production from our offense. Sara played great for us but we weren't able to establish a balanced offensive attack.”
Tuomi was 11-25 from the field and scored in double figures for the 20th time this season, but she was the only Wildcat in double figures. Tonya Schnibbe finished with nine points, five assists, and five rebounds but no other Wildcat scored more than five points.
Weber State shot 33 percent from the field, while the Bengals shot 40 percent. ISU also out rebounded Weber State 43-38 and was 6-22 from three-point land. The Wildcats did have a season-low nine turnovers in the game.
Weber State was just 3-3 from the free throw line. The three free throws made is tied for the sixth fewest made in a game in school history and the three attempts is the third fewest attempts ever. Idaho State was 10-11 from the free throw line, staying in first place in the nation in free throw percentage.
The Wildcats finish the first half of Big Sky play at 2-6 and are currently in eighth in the league standings. WSU has now lost its first four conference games at home for the first time since 1993. Weber State will play again next Thursday at Northern Colorado.
