Box Score

POCATELLO, Idaho — This didn't turn out to be the thrilling near miss that the Crusaders enjoyed just a few weeks earlier.

Playing their second NCAA Division I foe of the season — this time not in an exhibition contest — the Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team played well, but just couldn't knock off host Idaho State, falling 88-69 Monday afternoon on the road.

"Today as a team we lacked the energy that is necessary to beat a good team on the road," NNU women's head basketball coach Ryan Bragdon said.

"We had solid efforts from Taylor (Simmons), Ellie (Logan) and Katie (Swanson), but that wasn't enough to overcome the lack of energy and intensity of purpose. We'll continue to iron-out those type of issues."

That trio accounted for 43 points and 15 rebounds for the Crusaders, who hung around much of the first half, trailing 13-10 early after a Logan bucket and 24-18 following a Kate Cryderman basketball with 9 minutes left until halftime.

Idaho State (1-2 overall) tried breaking the game open, twice stretching the lead to double digits, but the Crusaders (1-3) hung around and trailed 33-27 on a Logan layup with 4 ½ minutes remaining before the break.

A quick 8-0 run by the Bengals finally gave the D-I hosts a bit of breathing room over the NCAA Division II Crusaders, who couldn't whittle the margin back into single digits ever again.

Simmons led the Crusaders with 17 points while Logan added 14 points and Swanson had 13 points and eight rebounds for NNU, which returns to action on Saturday, hosting Carroll College (Mont.) at 2 p.m.

On Nov. 7, the NNU women nearly upset NCAA D-I Boise State in an exhibition game for both teams, falling 84-83 to the host Broncos.