Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Idaho State
'Cats start Big Sky play with 61-46 win over ISU
1/2/2016 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
POCTAELLO, Idaho – Weber State women's basketball started conference play Saturday afternoon with a 61-46 victory over Idaho State. WSU had three Wildcats in double figures and only eight turnovers.
"This group put up a great team effort tonight," said head coach Bethann Ord. "Something that really stood out tonight was our defense, causing 31 turnovers and scoring 30 points off the turnovers was big for us."
The Bengals got a jump on the Wildcats in the first quarter starting with a 7-2 run. Weber State picked up the momentum going on a 5-0 run tying the game up at 7-7 with 3:18 left in the quarter. ISU went 1-8 to end the quarter giving the Wildcats the chance to take an 11-10 lead to end the quarter.
Idaho State started the second quarter with an 8-0 run forcing Weber State to play catch up. The Wildcats went on a 13-4 run to tie the game at 26-26 2:02 left in the first half. Weber State reclaimed the lead with 30 seconds left in the half after an over under layup by Regina Okoye. They increased their lead to 30-26 with a last second jumper by Deeshyra Thomas.
In the first half of play the Wildcats shot 34.3 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free throw line. Weber State also caused Idaho State to turn the ball over 13 times and scored 13 points off the turnovers in the first half.
The third quarter was a quarter a defensive quarter for both teams. Idaho State started the quarter off by tying it up but then proceeded to go on a five minute scoring drought. Weber State claimed a 32-30 lead and then went on a four minute scoring drought. ISU ended up outscoring WSU 8-6 in the third quarter but WSU maintained the lead for a 36-34 score going into the fourth quarter.
"I told them in the third quarter that we needed more energy on both ends of the court," Ord said. "We needed our defensive energy to translate to the offensive side and they stepped up to the challenge."
The Wildcats started the fourth quarter strong with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes. The Wildcats claimed a 10 point lead for the first time in the game with 6:08 to go in the game. The Wildcats maintained the lead throughout the rest of the quarter. Weber State ended the quarter with a 10-0 run solidifying the 61-46 victory. WSU outscored ISU 25-12 in the fourth quarter.
Weber State had three players in double figures and were led by Okoye with 17 points. Thomas had a new season high with 17 points which also tied her career high. Brittney Dunbar also scored in double figures with 12 points.
Dunbar led the Wildcats in rebounding pulling down eight. Okoye and Thomas each had six boards for the Wildcats. Dunbar also had six steals and three assists.
Weber State shot 31 percent from the field, 20 percent from the three and went 14-18 from the free throw line for 77. The Wildcats had 30 points off ISU turnovers. WSU had one eight turnovers and had 21 steals. ISU had 31 turnovers and three steals.
The Wildcats had the lead for over 20 minutes throughout the game.
Weber State is now 9-3 overall on the season and 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play. The Wildcats will remain on the road for two more games against North Dakota and Northern Colorado. WSU's next home game will be Jan. 14 at noon against Portland State for the annual Field Trip game.
