The College of Idaho women’s basketball bench outscored Montana Tech by a 12-5 margin in the final 20 minutes en route to a 53-49 win over the Orediggers on Saturday night.
10 of the 12 points came from sophomore guard Taryn Riley, who sparked a come-from-behind win as College of Idaho raises its record to 4-0. The Yotes begin the season with a 4-0 mark for the second-straight season. Back to Saturday’s win, Riley and College of Idaho found itself behind as much as 11 in the win as College of Idaho scored the final eight points of the contest en route to the win.
Down 49-48 with 2:04 left to play, a three-point play by Riley regained the lead for College of Idaho for the first time since 12-11 with :45 left in the opening quarter. She went on to seal the win, making three of four free throws in the final seconds. Riley finished the game with a team-high 14 points and Sienna Riggle had a double double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Yotes. Plus, Lexi Mitchell scored eight points and had 12 rebounds and Riley handed out a game-high three assists.
Montana Tech (2-4) was led by a 10 point, seven rebound effort from Challis Westwater in the loss. An intense defense by the Yotes on the perimeter forced the Orediggers to shoot 13.6% (3-for-22) on 3-point attempts. Tavia Rooney grabbed nine rebounds for Montana Tech.
College of Idaho scored the first five points of the game for an early lead. Montana Tech came back with a 9-2 spurt to put the Orediggers ahead 9-7 with 3:50 left in the opening quarter. The lead went back and forth as the Orediggers made a layup just before the end of the quarter buzzer for a 13-12 lead. Montana Tech outscored College of Idaho, 19-9 on its way to a 32-21 lead at the halftime break.
The Orediggers remained in front until a resilient College of Idaho team made its comeback as Riggle made a layup with 2:30 to go that made it a two-point game, 49-47. Then, the three-point play by Riley after a steal by Riggle sparked the comeback for the Yotes as College of Idaho went back in front. Montana Tech attempted to regain the lead but missed on a trio of three-pointer attempts.
The contest remained a one possession contest as Riley made one of two free throws with seven seconds to play to put the Yotes ahead 51-49. An Orediggers turnover with :03 to play and two more free throws by Riley sealed the win.
Next, College of Idaho will host the Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic as they host NCAA Division III Willamette on Friday, November 25 at 5 p.m. The Bearcats are currently 2-0 and will have two more games before coming to Caldwell.