Montana State scored 10 of the game's first 12 points and never trailed, racing past the University of Idaho in women's basketball 70-58 in Moscow on Sunday afternoon.
Katie Bussey led the Bobcats with 14 points, while Ashley Albert and Sarah Strand added 13. Jamie Thornton, playing eight miles from her hometown of Pullman, Wash., scored 10 points, including six of MSU's first 21 points in what Bobcat coach Tricia Binford called a post-oriented attack.
"Going into the game we wanted to get the ball to Jamie and for her to keep it high, because we knew they had no one to match her," Binford said. Thornton also grabbed three rebounds, blocked a shot and recorded a steal.
Thornton's first points came on a layup, sandwiched around layups by Lyndi Seidensticker and Katie Bussey, to give MSU the first six points of the game. The Bobcats didn't relent, running the lead to 21-5 on a Thornton jumper and eventually a 24-point cushion, 33-9, on a Bussey jumper.
While Bobcat veterans triggered the win, Binford was pleased with her younger players. Freshman Ashley Albert scored 13 on five-for-eight shooting, while Rachel Semansky added four and Ally Schmitt dished out three assists.
Montana State shot 61% in the first half, and finished at 52%, punctuating that with a 91% performance (10-for-11) from the free throw line. Strangely, the Bobcats didn't convert even one of their 11 three-point attempts.
Montana State raised its record to 3-1 on the season, while Idaho falls to 0-3. The Bobcats host Southern Utah at 7:30 pm Friday on the first night of the Wingate Thanksgiving Classic in Worthington Arena. Utah Valley and Winthrop play at 5 pm Friday, prior to the MSU-Southern Utah contest.
