2008 Woodie Awards
ISU Women Continue to Roll, Defeat Eastern Washington 74-65 in Cheney
ISU Athletics Department
Issue date: 2/22/06 Section: Sports
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Cheney, WA-Four Bengals scored in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from Natalie Doma as Idaho State won its fourth straight and completed a road sweep with a 74-65 win over Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon at Reese Court in Cheney, Washington.
The win pushes Idaho State to 14-11 overall, 8-3 in Big Sky play. The Bengals are now just a half game behind Northern Arizona for first place. NAU plays host to Montana tonight in Flagstaff. Eastern Washington falls to 10-13 overall, 4-6 in league play.
The win gives ISU a road sweep of Portland State and Eastern Washington for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Idaho State went a perfect 16-0 during that year, and won their first-ever Big Sky championship.
After shooting just 33 percent in the first half, Idaho State went into the break trailing 32-42. Trailing by 11 points just four minutes into the second, Idaho State's Doma connected on a shot beyond the arc, sparking a 13-1 run, capped off by a couple of Andrea Lightfoot treys.
Eastern rallied to tied the game for the seventh time, 58-58, with just over five minutes to play, but ISU countered with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to give the Bengals a 71-60 lead with under two minutes to go, helping to secure ISU's fourth straight win.
"The first half was Montana all over again," said ISU head coach Jon Newlee. "It was one of our worst efforts of the season. We were lucky to go into the half only down by 10. The second half was a different story. I knew if we could just hang tough and get things reset at halftime that we would have a shot at the win. We came out with more energy, more focus, and more heart in the second half."
Doma paced the Bengals with 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including a 2-of-3 mark from long range. She also connected on 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. Lightfoot recorded 21 points on 7-of-15 shots from the field. The sophomore guard also went 3-of-4 from three, and recorded a perfect 4-of-4 clip at the charity stripe.
The win pushes Idaho State to 14-11 overall, 8-3 in Big Sky play. The Bengals are now just a half game behind Northern Arizona for first place. NAU plays host to Montana tonight in Flagstaff. Eastern Washington falls to 10-13 overall, 4-6 in league play.
The win gives ISU a road sweep of Portland State and Eastern Washington for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Idaho State went a perfect 16-0 during that year, and won their first-ever Big Sky championship.
After shooting just 33 percent in the first half, Idaho State went into the break trailing 32-42. Trailing by 11 points just four minutes into the second, Idaho State's Doma connected on a shot beyond the arc, sparking a 13-1 run, capped off by a couple of Andrea Lightfoot treys.
Eastern rallied to tied the game for the seventh time, 58-58, with just over five minutes to play, but ISU countered with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to give the Bengals a 71-60 lead with under two minutes to go, helping to secure ISU's fourth straight win.
"The first half was Montana all over again," said ISU head coach Jon Newlee. "It was one of our worst efforts of the season. We were lucky to go into the half only down by 10. The second half was a different story. I knew if we could just hang tough and get things reset at halftime that we would have a shot at the win. We came out with more energy, more focus, and more heart in the second half."
Doma paced the Bengals with 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including a 2-of-3 mark from long range. She also connected on 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. Lightfoot recorded 21 points on 7-of-15 shots from the field. The sophomore guard also went 3-of-4 from three, and recorded a perfect 4-of-4 clip at the charity stripe.