Bengals clinch tourney spot

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Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Thirteen 3-pointers is a modestly high number for the Big Sky Conference’s No. 1 offense, two short of a season-high mark for the Idaho State women’s basketball team.

But when the high-flying Bengals shelled out eight treys on 11 first-half attempts, the altitude left the league’s top perimeter defense

sucking wind.

“When we’re open, we have the kind of shooters who can do that,” ISU coach Jon Newlee said. “I see these kids shoot like this in practice and that’s the way we shoot.”

Suffice to say that the defending league-champion Bengals brought the

bigger fist to Friday’s 96-74 slugfest in Bozeman, stuffing Montana State

back into fifth place in the Big Sky standings and securing their position

in the Big Sky tournament.

In the first half, the Bengals exceeded even their own high standards

for fireworks. Reaching deep into its reserves, ISU exacted a greater

measure of home-court embarrassment than MSU inflicted Jan. 20 in Pocatello.

“I think the key to Idaho State is to keep them in the 70s,” MSU coach

Tricia Binford said. “I know that sounds like a lot of points, but it’s a

lot easier to defeat them than if they score 80 or 90. Bottom line: They had

some motivation tonight.”

Three Bengals scored 20 points or more in Friday’s offensive circus,

with defending Big Sky MVP Andrea Lightfoot as ringleader.

Lightfoot finished with 22, while league-leading scorer and rebounder

Natalie Doma had a below-average 20 points and eight rebounds. But it was

senior point guard Jeni Boesel’s perfect night from the perimeter (4-of-4 on

3-pointers) that proved too much for MSU.

“We learned tonight that we’re not good enough to just show up and win,”

Binford said. “If we take care of business the next two weeks, it looks like

we have a good chance of facing them again in the first game of the

tournament.”

Extending their current streak to four games, the Bengals looked

remarkably like the team that ran the table last year in February to win the

regular-season title.

MSU appeared as if it had used up most of its offense Thursday,

By MIKE KIEFER

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