kang@journalnet.com

LOGAN, Utah - A glimpse at the scoreboard alerted Chelsea Pickering to the fact that Utah State had regained the lead early in the second half for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

But Idaho State's sophomore guard didn't feel the least bit worried.

Heck, senior wing Michelle Grohs wasn't even aware the Aggies held the lead at that point.

"I didn't really realize when they did," Grohs said.

The Bengals absorbed every blow the Aggies delivered at them and countered with a few of their own Saturday. Idaho State gutted its way to a stellar second-half performance for the second straight game and toppled Utah State 58-43 at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Grohs led the way with a career-high 21 points to go along with her 10 rebounds, and Pickering and Oana Iacovita also reached double figures in scoring.

"After the second half, it's going to be over, so you've got to push through and give it your all," Pickering said. "We do seem to come out a lot stronger in the second half, which is a good thing. Up or down, we're going to get that run on them."

Idaho State's win over Alcorn State on Monday came after a 43-23 explosion in the second half, and the Bengals relied on a similar effort Saturday.

Idaho State (2-2) led 23-16 after an ugly first half, but Utah State (1-2) dashed to a 16-4 run for a 32-29 lead, its first since a little over two minutes into the game. The Aggies' standout post Lydia Whitehead scored six of those points.

That didn't faze the Bengals one bit. On their next trip down the floor, Grohs buried a 3-pointer to spark a 13-0 run over the next 4:12. Idaho State never led by fewer than seven points after that.

Grohs scored nine of the 13 points during that span, hitting another 3-pointer and adding a three-point play. She finished 8-for-16 from the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.

"She had an awesome game," Pickering said of Grohs. "We were just finding her open, and she was able to knock down her shots. She took advantage of her size and quickness whenever different defenders were guarding her. Props to her."

Idaho State coach Seton Sobolewski said the Bengals knew going into the game that Utah State's posts played weak perimeter defense, and they fully intended to capitalize on that.

The Bengals' counter-punch also hinged a lot on their defense. Aggressively double-teaming the 6-foot-4 Whitehead every time she touched the ball, the Bengals held her to just one other bucket outside of her second-half surge for a total of eight points. Whitehead, a transfer from Utah, averaged 12 points and 12.5 rebounds entering the game.

Idaho State junior Oana Iacovita did her part, time and again stepping in front of entry passes to Whitehead to collect five steals.

"A lot of it was Oana, too," Sobolewski said. "Oana got pigeon-holed, I think, as not being a very good defender in the past."

Unable to feed Whitehead the ball down low, the Aggies often tried to kick the ball out to the perimeter. No luck there, either. Utah State went 4-for-25 from beyond the arc and committed 20 turnovers trying in vain to find better shots.

For that reason, as well as Grohs' hot hand, the Bengals hardly worried about the Aggies' mini-surge.

"I just knew that we had broken down and weren't doing the things that coach told us to do," Pickering said. "As long as we fixed those, we would be just fine, and that's what we did."