During the most important moment of the game, and possibly the defining seconds of the season for Idaho State women’s basketball, Megan Hochstein wasn’t watching.
She was turned away from the action, praying and hoping Idaho State’s slim one-point lead over Northern Arizona would hold.
The Bengals worked hard for 39 minutes and 57 seconds to go up 69-68, only their second lead of the entire afternoon.
As NAU’s Monique Mulder banked in a shot and the clock struck zero, Hochstein’s eyes turned back toward the court. All she saw was chaos.
The Lumberjacks bench had exploded in joy. But then the referees’ whistles blew and waived the shot off. The play went to review. Hochstein and the Bengals had to wait in breathless anticipation.
Would the jumper be good? Would Grace Kenyon’s floater in the lane not be enough to win the game?
Hochstein’s prayer was answered.
Idaho State held on for a 69-68 win in Reed Gym, and there was a big sigh of relief. ISU avoided a fifth loss at home and falling below .500 in conference play.
It was a gutsy, gritty effort from the Bengals. Northern Arizona was good on offense and shot 48 percent form the field. But Idaho State, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half, never went away.
ISU’s roster of 16 players is lined with 11 underclassmen, and there are times when the Bengals play as young as they are.
When Hochstein first entered the game in the first half, she posted up deep underneath the basket. Using flawless post technique, she sealed her defender, and senior guard Jasmine Lemon fed Hochstein a pass that allowed the freshman forward from Meridian to finish a layup right at the rim.
Hochstein dribbled off her foot the next time she touched the ball.
"I just try to focus and move on and try to forget the play if it’s bad,” Hochstein said. “If it’s good, just try to stay as even as possible.”
The up-and-down nature of Hochstein’s game is endemic and universal for all freshmen. They’re unfinished products still finding their way on the basketball floor. Growing pains are expected.
But they’re not condoned.
“I don’t think we ever think that we’re young,” said Bengals sophomore Katrina Bacovcin. “We don’t ever use the excuse that we’re young. And I think that’s why we’re able to compete with some teams. It might be easier in the future, but right now we’re just focusing in the present.”
And the present isn’t too bad. With a 3-3 Big Sky record, Idaho State is right in the middle of the conference standings and in great shape to make the postseason tournament.
It’s hard to not draw parallels between the 2014-15 Bengals and the 2009-10 team. Back in 2009, Idaho State and coach Seton Sobolewski went 15-15 overall and 10-6 in the Big Sky.
That squad was led by Oana Iacovita, Chelsea Pickering and Andrea Videbeck, who is an assistant coach for the Bengals this season. All three of those players were upperclassmen, but that team also had freshmen Ashleigh Vella and Kaela Oakes contributing major minutes.
Vella and Oakes developed into all-Big Sky players and were central cogs in Idaho State’s 2011-12 championship team as juniors.
After Saturday’s game, Sobolewski compared Kenyon to Vella, who also had a game-winning shot when she was a freshman.
“Vella is kind of a do-it-all, great defender,” Sobolewski said. “And Grace will get there. But I think Grace is probably a little better scorer than her.”
That’s high praise. Vella went on to score 1,341 points, sixth most in ISU history. If Kenyon can take her game to that level, Idaho State really might be able to build toward another Big Sky title.
But Kenyon, Hochstein, Bacovcin and ISU’s other underclassmen aren’t worried about next year. They want to win now. And right now, they’ve got key road games coming up at Sacramento State and Portland State before returning home to face Northern Colorado and preseason favorite North Dakota.
Can the Bengals, with all their youth, talent and inexperience, harness the lessons they’ve learned from the first 17 games of the season and apply them to the last 12?
“We’re at the point of the season where with this win (against Northern Arizona), we are going to have momentum from it,” Bacovcin said. “We’ve been a little inconsistent in the past and this win really signifies us moving forward and being more consistent."
No comments:
Post a Comment