ISU Bengal

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Dylan Guenther Natalie Doma, #35, pushes past a defender to put more points on the board.

In their final home game last Saturday, seniors Natalie Doma, Andrea Lightfoot and Kaylynn Fager were honored before the start by the largest crowd at Reed Gym this season. Idaho State then proceeded to cap a 20 win season with an 81-69 victory over Weber State. It was the team's third straight victory, putting the Bengals alone in second place in the Big Sky with Portland State's loss to Montana State.

Idaho State started the game slow, as Weber jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes, but then Natalie Doma and company kicked it into gear and went on a 25-5 run over the next 10 minutes to go up 27-13, highlighted by 14 points from Doma. The Bengals never lost the lead again.

Weber State stayed in the game and pulled within four points with just under two minutes left in the half, but then Doma scored four points and Devin Diehl hit a jumper off an inbound pass at the buzzer to put ISU up 39-31 at halftime.

The second half was a back and forth affair, with the lead bouncing between eight and 13 points much of the way. However, the Bengals stretched it out to as many as 19 points a couple times with hot shooting from Lightfoot, Jenna Brown and a 3-pointer from Michelle Grohs, going up 76-57 with about four minutes left.

Then Coach Newlee pulled Lightfoot from the game to a standing ovation, followed by Doma shortly thereafter. Then Fager and the Bengals wound down the clock, completing the win and finishing a 20-8 regular season, with a 12-4 Big Sky record.

For the third straight game the offensive effort was spread around. Doma and Lightfoot combined for 49 points and were the only two in double figures. But Diehl and Brown each had nine points, and Oana Iacovita and Grohs each had seven to round out ISU's scoring. Doma completed her 24th double double with 32 points and 15 rebounds for the game, while Lightfoot scored 17 points. Iacovita was strong on defense with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Bengals were one shot under 50 percent shooting for the game, and connected on 22 out of 24 free throws, sealing their #1 in the nation statistic in free throw percentage for the season. Doma finishes the season third in the nation for both scoring and rebounds per game, while Lightfoot is sixth in the nation in free throw percentage at a hair above 90 percent.

The Bengals now head to Missoula for the Big Sky Tournament. They will play their semifinal game Friday at 5:30 pm against a team to be announced. If they win that game, the championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 pm. The games can be heard on KISU 91.1 FM, and the championship game will be televised on the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel. Ticket information for traveling fans is at www.montanagrizzlies.com.

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