Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Idaho State
Bengals Rally for OT Win Over WSU
2/19/2010 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
POCATELLO, Idaho -- Idaho State rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the Weber State women's basketball team 79-75 in overtime on Thursday night at Reed Gymnasium.
Weber State used a 16-0 run early in the first half to take a 19-4 lead with 11:24 remaining in the period. ISU whittled the lead down to five with 1:33 left in the half, but the 'Cats pushed it back to nine and took a 30-21 margin into the break.
WSU again led by 15 after Megan Patterson's three-pointer with 10:37 left in the game. The Wildcats led by 15 as late as the 8:43 mark, but the Bengals refused to go away.
Idaho State put together a 13-2 run to cut the lead to four over the next three minutes and 25 seconds, and had the lead down to one with 1:07 left as Ashleigh Vella hit from behind the arc.
Andrea Videbeck scored on a layup with 29 seconds left in regulation, giving the Bengals their first lead of the game since holding a 4-3 advantage at the 18:07 mark of the first half. Following a Wildcat miss and foul, Videbeck missed on the second free throw attempt that would have put Idaho State ahead by three. With eight seconds left, Caitlin Anderson hauled in the rebound and found Tonya Schnibbe, who scored a game-tying layup on the other end as time expired to give Weber State new life.
In the extra period, ISU jumped out with a 7-1 run to open the overtime and led 71-65 with 2:57 to play. Ali Thorderson hit from three-point range, and Nicke Parks hit three-of-four free throws to fuel a 6-0 run for the Wildcats, tying the game at 71-all with 1:37 left. The Bengals pulled out to a four-point lead on a jumper by Oana Iacovita and a pair of free throws by Videbeck, and Chelsea Pickering iced the game with four-straight hits from the charity stripe over the final 13 seconds.
Anderson hit 11 of 13 shots from the floor for a season-high 27 points. She also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. Sarah Conner added 15 points for the Wildcats, while Schnibbe also posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Patterson added eight points, while Parks recorded career-high's with eight points and eight rebounds.
Videbeck led the Bengals with 20 points, while Pickering and Vella added 17 and 15 points, respectively. Iacovita chipped in eight points and a team-high eight rebounds for ISU.
The Bengals improved to 12-14 overall and 7-6 in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats fell to 9-17 overall and 3-10 in league play. Weber State has been pushed to the brink of elimination in its chase for a berth in the conference tournament. The Wildcats will need to win a pair next week against Eastern Washington and Portland State at home, and have Sacramento State lose three-straight to possibly set up a win-and-get-in scenario against the Hornets in the last game of the season. The Wildcats will also need help elsewhere, as both Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona also remain between WSU and the final tournament spot.
