Wildcats Suffer 67-66 Heartbreaker to Idaho State

Both the Weber State Wildcats and Idaho State Bengals shared a 7-6 (3-1) record when walking into the Dee Events Center to clash on Saturday afternoon, but what's more intriguing about that is the backstory.

The 'Cats have come into their own under head coach Velaida Harris who has quietly been putting together a team that's opened many eyes throughout this young season. The program has seen a leap that could only be achieved with time and has looked like a team that could win the conference title come March. Meanwhile, ISU is coming off a season where they'd claimed the Big Sky throne and are looking to once again achieve that crown. But regardless of the tales of the two team's previous seasons, this wasn't going to be a measuring stick opportunity for WSU. They believe that they can be the queens' of the conference and they played like it, despite ultimately coming up short.

The battle between WSU and ISU was hard-fought right out the gate. The Bengals went out and found early momentum within their first few possessions but then the 'Cats answered it by finding their footing; after the opening quarter, Idaho State led 20-19. In the second quarter, things were more of the same. Each time stood and took heavy punches from their opponent before countering with their own - going into the break ISU again held the advantage as they now had a 36-32 lead.

If there was any point in this game that showed that the 'Cats potential, it was the third quarter. It just felt like everything was going right for them as they were able to string together stops and convert on the other end of the floor. Their intensity helped them win the quarter 17-8 which left them with a 49-44 lead heading into the final frame. That same intensity was on display in the fourth quarter but ultimately the Bengals kept chipping away until eventually drilling a go-ahead three-pointer with just under five seconds left.

On their final possessions, the Wildcats went to Emma Torbert knowing that the Bengals were struggling to defend without fouling. ISU had been called for 21 fouls throughout the afternoon but when Emma Torbert tried to finish a lay-up through contact - it was deemed unworthy of a 22nd.

Torbert was the leading scorer for WSU as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, she also knocked down 8-10 free throws. Jadyn Mathews also gave the 'Cats a big outing as she notched 14 points and 11 boards. Meanwhile, Daryn Hickok had 9 points and 8 rebounds while picking up full-court nearly each time Idaho State brought the ball down the floor after an inbounds pass.

It was a heartbreaker in Ogden, but the Wildcats will look to find closure against the Idaho Vandals on Thursday and the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday.

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Team Stats

Emma Torbert

Jadyn Matthews

Daryn Hickok

Kori Pentzer

Players Mentioned

Daryn Hickok

Emma Torbert

Players Mentioned

Daryn Hickok

Emma Torbert

Weber State University Athletics