Jacks end losing skid at Idaho State

Monday, January 2

Pocatello, Idaho

TBA

South Dakota State University

Idaho State

1/1/1970 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

POCATELLO, Idaho -- Four South Dakota State players scored in double figures as the Jackrabbit women's basketball team ended a three-game losing streak Monday night with a 82-70 road victory at Idaho State.

SDSU, which never trailed in the game, improved to 8-6 overall in ending its longest losing streak since the 2000-01 season. Idaho State dropped to 5-7.

The Jackrabbits got off to a fast start, building a nine-point lead at 13-4 in the first four minutes of the game. SDSU built a double-digit lead midway through the half and led by as many as 22 points, 39-17, on a jumper by Christina Gilbert with four minutes to play.

SDSU led 44-28 at halftime. Megan Vogel paced the Jackrabbits early as she scored 17 of her team-high 22 points in the first half, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers and all eight free throw attempts.

With SDSU leading 71-53 with just under seven minutes left, the Bengals mounted one more charge. A 15-2 run by Idaho State over a two-and-a-half minute span cut the margin to five points. However, Jackrabbit freshman Jennifer Warkenthien nailed a three-pointer with 2:32 remaining to give SDSU an eight-point cushion and put the game out of reach.

The Jackrabbits finished the night with their best shooting performance of the season, making 27-of-59 field goal attempts for 45.8 percent. Five different players made three-pointers as SDSU made 11-of-19 tries from behind the arc. At the line, the Jackrabbits converted 17-of-20 attempts, 85 percent.

Gilbert, who returned to the starting lineup at center after coming off the bench the last two games, contributed 14 points. The starting guard tandem of Andrea Verdegan and Heather Sieler added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Vogel completed her second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds as SDSU held a 44-29 edge on the boards.

For Idaho State, Chelsey Chambers led all players with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Andrea Lightfoot added 22 points and seven assists, while Jeni Boesel chipped in with 11 points.

The Bengals made 26-of-66 field goal attempts, 39.4 percent, including 10-of-26 from three-point range, 38.5 percent. ISU converted 8-of-10 free throw attempts.

Following a week off, SDSU returns to action Jan. 10 by hosting Kennesaw State (Ga.). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 82 (8-6)
Megan Vogel 5-11 9-10 22, Jennifer Warkenthein2-5 0-0 5, Christina Gilbert 7-10 0-0 14, Andrea Verdegan 3-5 4-4 12, Heather Sieler 3-6 2-2 11, Natalie Carda 3-10 2-4 8, Morgan Meier 0-0 0-0 0, Stacie Oistad 1-3 0-0 2, Ashlea Muckenhirn 3-9 0-0 8. Totals 27-59 17-20 82.
IDAHO STATE 70 (5-7)
Michelle Grohs 2-3 0-0 4, Chelsey Chambers 8-17 4-5 23, Jenna Brown 1-4 0-0 3, Jeni Boesel 3-10 2-3 11, Andrea Lightfoot 9-17 2-2 22, Joanna Hixon 0-4 0-0 0, Ali Gorny 0-0 0-0 0, Sandra Dziurdzia 1-3 0-0 3, Natalie Doma 2-8 0-0 4. Totals 26-66 8-10 70.
Halftime: SDSU 44, ISU 28. FG% SDSU .458, ISU .394. 3-pt-FG - SDSU 11-19 (Vogel 3-4, Sieler 3-5, Verdegan 2-2, Muckenhirn 2-4, Warkenthien 1-2, Carda 0-1, Oistad 0-1), ISU 10-26 (Chambers 3-6, Boesel 3-8, Lightfoot 2-6, Brown 1-3, Dziurdzia 1-3). Rebounds - SDSU 44 (Vogel 10), ISU 29 (Chambers 12). Fouls - SDSU 16, ISU 16. Fouled out - None. Assists - SDSU 18 (Verdegan 5), ISU 17 (Lightfoot 7). Steals - SDSU 9 (Sieler, Warkenthien 2), ISU 10 (Chambers 3). Blocked shots - SDSU 2 (Verdegan, Warkenthien), ISU 4 (Boesel, Chambers, Doma, Grohs). Turnovers - SDSU 21, ISU 15. A - 641.