POCATELLO, Idaho - Saturday, March 2 will be a bittersweet day for the Idaho State women's basketball program. Prior to tipoff against Sacramento State, five talented young women will be recognized as they prepare to play the last home games of their careers at Idaho State.
This class of seniors has been a special one. Seniors
Kaela Oakes and
Ashleigh Vella were some of the first recruits for ISU Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski.
“Two of the five seniors,
Kaela Oakes and
Ashleigh Vella, were instrumental in our growth,” Sobolewski said. “
Ashleigh Vella was the first player to commit after I got here and
Kaela Oakes was an early signee in our first recruiting class. Those two players have helped take us from a rough beginning when we had a losing record my first season to a championship contender. ISU was my first opportunity as a head coach and those two have been there from the very beginning. I am very sentimental about the situation and I know when senior night hits, it's going to be emotional.”
Oakes and Vella have been at Idaho State all four years of their careers. In that time span, ISU has won 72 total contests, the second most wins in a four-year span in school history, and 43 Big Sky match-ups. The Bengals have made it to the Big Sky Tournament each of the last three seasons and will hopefully clinch a spot in this season's conference tournament this weekend.
The squad has also put up big wins against Air Force, Boise State, South Florida, Utah and Utah State.
Last season, the Bengals took the Big Sky regular season title with a 14-2 conference record and earned the program's third trip to the NCAA Tournament with a 49-46 win over Northern Colorado in the tournament final.
Vella and Oakes have been the team leaders for the Bengals for the last three seasons as the duo averaged at least 11 points each in their sophomore and junior campaigns. This season, Vella leads ISU with 12.1 points per contest and Oakes follows closely with 10.8 per game.
Both have been co-captains for the last two campaigns. Oakes has played in 116 contests as a Bengal and Vella has suited up for 117. Vella has started in 116 while Oakes has been a starter in 98 contests.
“I woke up a couple weeks ago nauseated at the thought of Vella, Kaela and those guys being gone just because they have been so great for us,” Sobolewski said. “They have been our rock, our safety net and have always been there for us. Now a new era is getting ready to begin without them and it's uneasy for me. Not that I don't trust the people in the future, but we have relied on Kaela and Vella for four years. They were starters as freshmen. I'm going to be very sad to see them go because they are such good people and you wish you could hang on to them longer.”
Vella has scored 1,260 total points in her career and pulled down 704 total rebounds. She scored a career-high 31 points at Utah on Dec. 8, 2010 to help ISU defeat the Utes 71-68 in overtime. She is a two-time All-Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention selection and was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Tournament team last season.
She was the 12
th player in ISU history to record both 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds and the 15
th player in school history to break the 1,000 career point barrier. She was named to the Air Force Classic All-Tournament team last season and was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week twice in her career. She is also a three-time Big Sky Conference All-Academic selection.
She has been a clutch player for the Bengals on numerous occasions. She hit a layup with one second left and made a free throw to get the win over Utah State on Dec. 5, 2009 and hit a 3-point shot with 53 seconds remaining to give ISU its first program win over Utah. She also hit a layup with 14 seconds left to defeat Sacramento State 65-63 on Jan. 27, 2011.
Oakes' career at Idaho State is equally decorated. The 5-5 guard from Chandler, Ariz., has totaled 1,096 points and 298 rebounds in her career and became the 16
th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
She scored a career-high 28 points at Portland State on Jan. 17, 2011 and has scored 20-plus points on nine different occasions throughout her tenure.
Last season, she was named first team all-conference and has been an all-conference all-academic selection for the last three years.
She has been named Big Sky Player of the Week twice and was named the Texas El Paso Tournament MVP in 2010. She was named to the Air Force Classic All-Tournament team last year. Her career highlights also include hitting a layup with six seconds left to carry ISU over Utah State 67-65 on Dec. 10, 2011.
“Vella and Oakes have helped bring the younger players along and have taught them the standards that we hold for ourselves,” Sobolewski said. “Whether it was them directly coaching the younger people or setting a great example, those two have been very important in shaping where we are today both academically and as basketball players.”
The senior class also includes three players who started their careers at the junior college level but who successfully made the transition to the Division I level and have made significant contributions to the team in their time at ISU.
Jessa Jeppesen began her career as a Bengal during the 2011-12 season after transferring from Western Wyoming Community College.
In her first season at Idaho State, Jeppesen averaged 5.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. She was named College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week on Nov. 22, 2011 after a phenomenal performance against Boise State. The 6-2 forward recorded a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds against the Broncos for her first career double-double. That season she led the team in field goal percentage, shooting 41.8 percent for the year. Following the conclusion of the season, Jeppesen earned the Deb Thompson “Hustle and Heart” team award.
In total, Jeppesen has played in 53 contests as a Bengal and started in nine. She has tallied 248 rebounds, 300 points, 22 assists, 18 steals and 17 blocks in her two seasons with Idaho State.
Abyee Maracigan transferred to Idaho State after two outstanding seasons at Pima Community College. Maracigan redshirted the 2010-11 season at ISU and played her first season as a Bengal during the 2011-12 campaign. That season, Maracigan played in just 10 games, scored nine points and pulled down eight total rebounds.
This season, Maracigan has been a major contributor for ISU off the bench. She has appeared in 25 contests and started in two. She is averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. She stunned Southern Utah on Jan. 10, her 23
rd birthday, as she recorded her first double-double with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Taylor Floyd transferred to Idaho State from Independence Community College prior to the 2011-12 season. The Topeka, Kan., native has played in 23 contests for Idaho State and earlier this season returned to her home state and started in front of her family and friends against Kansas and Kansas State.
Her best game was during the 2011-12 season when she put up a team-leading 20 points against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Dec. 19. Floyd also pulled down six rebounds and recorded two assists against the Aggies.
“Jeppesen is an instrumental junior college recruit that helped us get over the hump to win a championship in 2012, especially in the rebounding and post defense departments,” Sobolewski said. “Taylor and Abyee filled very important roles in making our team better and of a championship caliber. As basketball players, this group of seniors has been instrumental in our development. As people and students, they have been phenomenal and a big part of our team GPA rising to a 3.40. Those five seniors are very popular in the community. People love them and they have been fantastic representatives of our program.”
While their basketball careers at Idaho State may be coming to a close, it is certain that big things lie in store for these young women who are set to graduate in the spring or fall of 2013. They will undoubtedly have promising careers off the court, whether it be as teachers, nurses, athletic trainers or coaches.
We Are Your Bengals
