kang@journalnet.com

If Michelle Grohs had her way, basketball scorekeepers would keep track of a few more statistics.

Pass deflections, for example. Maybe instances of timely help defense.

Because too often this season, Grohs and her Idaho State teammates have picked up a copy of the box score after a game expecting to see gaudy numbers beside junior wing Devin Diehl's name, only to be baffled by her line.

"We would think, oh yeah, she had that 10 points," said Grohs, a senior post, "and then you're like, oh, she shot four times! Never mind."

Not "never mind" as in, Diehl played terribly. "Never mind" as in, forget box scores as an accurate measure of Diehl's worth to the Bengals.

The numbers say Diehl is the only returning Bengal whose scoring production has dipped from last season. They also indicate Diehl is shooting the ball at a poorer rate.

What statistics don't properly reflect, though, is what Diehl accomplishes when she doesn't have the ball in her hands. The lanky wing leads Idaho State in steals, and Bengals coach Seton Sobolewski calls her one of the best defenders away from the ball he's ever coached.

As a bonus, Diehl appears to be slowing rediscovering her shooting touch and her niche as the Bengals' spot-up specialist, just in time for the meat of their Big Sky schedule.

"Our offense is still maturing, and I think all of us understand it a little bit more now," Diehl said. "We understand where we're going to get our type of shot that we are successful at."

For Diehl, that means fewer contested 3-pointers and shots in traffic close to the basket. While she was adjusting to Sobolewski's motion offense early in the season, Diehl developed a habit of curling around screens and rushing into the paint on every possession, thereby clogging up the middle of the court.

When she couldn't get off shots in those sets, she would resort to heaving up 3-pointers with defenders in her face.

By the end of the nonconference schedule, Diehl was shooting 31.5 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from 3-point range, a stark contrast to last season's 40.1 and 38.6 percent, respectively. Of her 89 field-goal attempts, 51 were treys.

"I would just always settle," Diehl said. "I was forcing some 3's and forcing shots."

Like all bad habits, Diehl's took a while to kick. But by the time Big Sky action began, she had learned not to rush into the paint as often and to stay patient while screens developed on the perimeter to spring her open.

While Diehl's shot attempts plummeted, so did her misses. Cutting down on her 3-point attempts has allowed Diehl to hit 48.1 percent of her field goals, and the treys she has attempted have been judicious ones, judging from her 60 percent (6-for-10) success rate.

Diehl's 10-point showing against Sacramento State last week marked the first time she had scored in double figures since Nov. 25.

"We'd like to see her take a few more shots, make a few more shots," Sobolewski said. "If she can get to 10 points a night, I think we're going to be in really good shape. Ten or more."

For a defensive-minded coach like Sobolewski, though, that would simply be a luxury. Far more important than those 10 points is what Diehl does outside the box score.

Not only does she lead Idaho State with 34 steals, Diehl also deflects a bunch of passes with her long arms to break up potential scoring chances by opponents. She prevents easy layups by dashing into the paint to provide help defense.

Having partially inherited Chelsea Pickering's role as the Bengals' defensive stopper, Diehl held Sacramento State standout Charday Hunt to five points on 1-for-11 shooting during last week's win.

"Obviously, we played defense under Jon Newlee, but it was always, if you weren't scoring, you were worried if you were going to play," Diehl said. "Now, I can be confident that if I'm playing good defense, I'm helping the team."

And even if the casual observer doesn't appreciate that, the Bengals do.

"It's the little stuff that gets done," Grohs said. "I'd like to see a stat on, when Devin goes out of the game, what happens."