Box Score

Idaho State 81, Utah State 67

POCATELLO, Idaho - After a slow start, Utah State women's basketball was unable to find a full comeback in road action at Idaho State Tuesday night, falling 81-67.

Sophomore guard Funda Nakkasoglu was again the leading scorer for the Aggies, ending the night with 24 points, her fifth 20-point game of the season. Senior forward Tijana Djukic was the top rebounder on the night with six. The Bengals had four players score in double figures, led by Anna Policicchio and Apiphany Woods with 18 points apiece. Idaho State out-rebounded Utah State, 48-29.

With the loss, Utah State falls to 3-4 on the year, while Idaho State improves to an even 4-4, winning its second-straight game. USU has not won in Pocatello since 1985. Idaho State led from start to finish in Saturday's game, the first time the Aggies have not led in a game since Dec. 19, 2014 at Sacramento State.

Idaho State jumped out with a spark as it opened the game on a 10-3 run to go into the first media timeout. Coming out of the stop, USU was able to slow the Bengal offense, but still weren't able to take advantage on its own end of the court. In the mix of the first substitutes for the Aggies was junior forward Angelica de Paulo, making her Utah State debut after missing the first six games with NCAA transfer policies. Idaho State got back in control to end the quarter, leading 19-8 at the end of the first, the Aggies' lowest-scoring quarter of the year.

The Bengals maintained momentum in the second quarter, finding a 15-point lead by the media stop. It wasn't until the 6:16 mark of the period that Nakkasoglu scored her first points away from the free throw line. In the final minutes of the half, both teams shot a combined 1-for-8 from the floor, but ISU kept its lead to go into the break up 40-22. The 22-point half is USU's lowest-scoring half since scoring 20 in the second half at Nevada on Feb. 11, 2015. The Aggies shot just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the field in the first half Tuesday, its worst-shooting half since shooting 21.1 percent (4-of-19) in the first half against Boise State on Jan. 3, 2015.

The third quarter was much more even for both teams as they traded shots back-and-forth. While it was beneficial for the Aggies, it wasn't enough to catch the Bengals who led by as many as 22 points. Nakkasoglu continued to lead the Aggies on the floor, maintaining her trend as the team's leading scorer and securing her sixth double-figure scoring game of the season. At the end of the third quarter, Idaho State had the 20-point advantage, up 58-38.

The Aggies found a bit of an offensive groove in the final period of the night, as they out-scored the Bengals, 15-10, before the media timeout. USU continued to chip at the ISU lead, led by Nakkasoglu and senior forward Tijana Djukic. A 3-point shot from Anchling cut the deficit to 10 points with just under three minutes to play. In the final minute of action, the only scoring for either team came from free throws. While the Aggies tried to keep up in the final minutes of the night, it wasn't enough to catch the Bengals who secured the 14-point win. After scoring just eight points in the first quarter, USU came back to score 29 points in the fourth. Overall, the Aggies won the second half, out-scoring the Bengals, 45-43.

Overall, Utah State shot 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from the 3-point line and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the free throw line. Idaho State shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field, 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from behind the arc and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the free throw line.

Utah State continues its four-game roadtrip on Thursday, Dec. 10 when the Aggies play at Utah Valley. The in-state rivalry game against the Wolverines is set to tip at 7 p.m.

A USU women's sports pass is available for $75, giving the owner entry to all home volleyball, women's basketball and gymnastics events. The pass, as well as individual game tickets, are available through the USU Athletics Ticket Office. Fans can find more information by calling (435) 797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) or by visiting the Utah State Athletics website at www.utahstateaggies.com.

Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @UtahStateWBB, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter.com, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.