East Idaho GMC Dealer Female Athlete of the Week – Maria Dias | sport

It is said that the mental aspect, along with good instincts, accounts for a large part of sporting success.

Idaho State University Bengals guard Maria Dias proved this when she found herself in the perfect position to give ISU a thrilling last-second win over the University of Rhode Island during the Cancun Challenge.

Maria’s head-up layup was the deciding factor in the Bengals’ 52-50 victory. She said it felt great to play for her team.

“It was great,” Dias said. “I didn’t even expect we would get the ball back. We tried to contain him and everything, but then it turned out they had to steal and I had the layup and it was great. “It was a great feeling.”

It was indeed a photo finish, with Piper Carlson directing the throw-in into the waiting arms of Sophia Covello, who then sent it forward to Maria, who was able to slot the ball in smoothly with her left hand.

Maria, who is from Lisbon, Portugal, had a long journey to the state of Idaho. Her previous stops included college ballgames in Miami, Florida and Visalia, California.

Although the weather here is a bit harsher, Maria enjoyed her time in the intermountain region.

“I like the community,” Maria said, I feel like we have a really big support system. I love my teammates, so I really enjoyed it.”

And once her time at Idaho State is up, she wants to try to get to the next level.

“Yes, I want to go back home or to Europe and play professionally,” Maria said. “My major is health sciences. So I want to be a nutritionist, but my first goal is to become a professional.”

Right now, Maria is focused on achieving a championship with the Idaho State Bengals.