Idaho State’s women’s basketball team’s offseason just went from bad to worse.

Bengal guard Diaba Konate has entered the transfer portal, she announced on her Instagram on Friday, deciding to leave the program days after four of her teammates did the same.

Earlier this week, Konate entered her name in the portal but then withdrew it, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. But now Konate has chosen to depart ISU’s program.

Head coach Seton Sobolewski declined to comment on this development.

That makes five Idaho State players who have opted to transfer: Konate, Tomekia Whitman, Montana Oltrogge (who joined Northern Arizona’s team this week), Jordan Sweeney and Paisley Specht.

Konate, who earned third-team all-conference honors last season and second-team honors in 2021, will be hard to replace. The team’s best perimeter defender, Konate averaged 10 points this season, using her athleticism to organize and unlock the Bengals’ offense. She missed the first nine games of the season with a knee injury, but when she returned, she became the on-ball pest and athletic guard the Bengals had been missing.

Konate did not play in Idaho State’s final game of the season, a WNIT loss to Wyoming on March 17. She made the trip, but according to Sobolewski, she encountered a medical issue that prompted the bus to stop in Soda Springs so Konate could be transported back to Pocatello.

That followed Idaho State’s Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal loss, a disappointing result for the top-seeded Bengals, who had advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The team, which captured back-to-back Big Sky regular-season championships, had quickly become one of the country’s best mid-major program.

The Bengals’ only returning starter is now rising super senior Callie Bourne.

That some of the team’s best players are leaving spells trouble for Idaho State. Whitman was a first-team all-conference pick and the co-defensive player of the year. Graduating senior Estefi Ors earned a second-team all-conference selection. Fellow graduating senior Dora Goles secured a spot on the 2021 first-team all-conference list. Konate made much of the Bengals’ success this year possible, too.

So times are changing with ISU’s program. The team will look significantly different next season.