Bobcat Women Back on Big Sky Conference Road

Click here for this week's complete WBB release (pdf)

BACK ON THE ROAD:
After playing three straight games on its home hardwood, the Montana State women's basketball team will venture back on to the Big Sky Conference road this weekend. MSU's first stop will be at Sacramento State, Thursday, Jan. 19 with an 8:05 p.m., (MST) tip with the Hornets. The Bobcats will conclude play at Northern Colorado in Greeley on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2:05 p.m. (MST).

PILOT OF THE AIRWAVES:
All Montana State women's basketball games - exhibition through postseason - will be carried live on KZMY My 103.5 FM. Tyler Wiltgen is in his fifth year calling the action. Wiltgen's pregame show begins 20-minutes prior to tip off.

FOR YOUR LISTENING/VIEWING PLEASURE:
Montana State women's basketball home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen via free video streaming at www.b2tv.com. In addition, games can be heard on the web by clicking the Bobcat Sports Radio Network button at www.msubobcats.com. Live stats are also available for home games at www.msubobcats.com or at each opponent's website in the case of away games.

CAT CHAT:
The backcourt trio of Katie Bussey, Kalli Durham and Latisha Adams combined for 49 points to lift the Bobcats to a 77-65 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. Bussey scored seven points right before halftime and the first five points of the second stanza to give MSU a 40-27 advantage a minute into the final half. A Chelsea Banis layup, combined with two Adams free throws and a Durham 3-pointer gave the Bobcats a 53-46 lead. Durham's third triple of the game put MSU up by nine points, before Bussey converted 8-of-8 free throws to secure the win. Bussey finished with 26 points, while Durham added 13 and Adams 10. Rachel Semansky had a game and career-high 18 boards for MSU. It wasn't Montana State basketball, but it was a win as four Bobcat players reached double-figure scoring to post a 64-61 win over Weber State on Thursday. Ashley Albert paced MSU with 15 points, while Banis added 13, Bussey 11 and Semansky 10.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

* Rachel Semansky, 6-0, Junior, Forward, Highwood, Montana

Semansky had an impressive weekend for the Bocbats under the boards, averaging 15.0 rebounds per game...recorded a season and career-best 18 rebounds in MSU's win over Northern Arizona...also finished the weekend averaging 9.0 points per game...leads the Bobcats in rebounding at 9.1 boards per contest.

* Kalli Durham, 5-7, Freshman, Guard, Miles City, Montana

Durham came off the bench to ignite the Montana State offense in its win over Northern Arizona last Saturday...went three-of-five from beyond the arc and added a four-of-four performance from the free throw line to post 13 points, which is her Big Sky Conference high to date...third on team with 18 triples.

TIME TO GET BUSSEY:
Katie Bussey has established herself as Montana State's all-time three-point makes queen. Bussey continues to add on to her school record, which currently stands at 222 treys. The mark ranks fourth on the all-time Big Sky chart. The league mark of 238 is held by Chelsey Warburton (Weber State, 2004-07). Bussey will have a good shot at breaking the conference mark as she will need to average 1.5 makes per game. She is currently averaging 2.4 makes per contest. A two-time All Big Sky performer and the 2008-09 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, she is also moving up the MSU all-time scoring ladder. Her current total of 1,488 points ranks 4th overall at Montana State. Last season, she posted 24 double-figure scoring games. Her career-high of 30 points was set against Pacific, Nov, 15, 2009. Last weekend, the native of Alamosa, Colo., broke out of a mini shooting slump with a season-high 26 points in MSU's win over Northern Arizona. Against NAU, Bussey went 5-of-12 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.

THE PRIDE OF HIGHWOOD:
Junior Rachel Semansky, a first-team All Big Sky selection last winter, continued her stellar play against Weber State and Northern Arizona last weekend, averaging a whopping 15.0 rebounds per game. In addition, she added 9.0 ppg. Semansky has led Montana State in rebounding in ten games this season. In all, she has notched seven double-digit rebounding games this year and ranks 13th on MSU's all-time list. Semansky leads the team shooting .547 and is top in rebounding at 9.1 per outing. Semansky recorded a career-high 30 points against the College of Idaho on Nov. 20. The pride of Highwood hauled down a career-best 18 rebounds against NAU on Jan. 14, 2012.

CHELSEA, LATELY:
Sophomore Chelsea Banis, who returned to the Bobcat roster this season after missing 15 Big Sky Conference games last winter due to a torn MCL, has worked herself back into MSU's starting rotation. The native of Fairfield averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 54 percent from the field. Against Weber State, she notched 13 points and nine rebounds. Last winter, Banis established herself as one of the top freshman in the Big Sky averaging 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 55 percent. Banis recorded a career-high 28 points at Utah Valley on Jan. 1, 2011.

DOUBLE A:
Sophomore Ashley Albert, a 6-foot-1 forward from Hamilton, Mont., returned to the Montana State lineup after missing all of the 2010-11 season with a torn ACL. As a freshman, Albert averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 42 percent. This season, Albert has been a steady performer for the Bobcats and is currently chipping in 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds from her small forward spot. Last weekend, Albert averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game, along with adding six assists, five three-pointers and three steals. She led MSU in its win over Weber State with a team-high 16 points. Albert's 11 boards versus Idaho State two weeks ago matched a career-high. Earlier this season, she posted a career-high 20 points against Big-10 foe Wisconsin. Overall, she has registered 13 games in double-figure scoring.

SWISHA:
Junior Latisha Adams has transitioned into the starting point-guard role, which gives the Bobcats added size at the spot. Last season, the 5-foot-9 native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, averaged 2.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Adams recorded a career-high 11 points at Weber State on Jan. 17, 2011. In addition, she pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against Sacramento State and dished out a season-high six assists against the Hornets, as well. Last week, Adams posted 10 points, six rebounds and five assists in Montana State's win over Northern Arizona.

AUSHA BY-GOSHA:
In her second season, Ausha Cole, a 5-foot-6 point guard, is currently second in assist/turnover ratio at +2.1 in Big Sky play. Cole is also ranked fifth in assists and sixth in steals. Last Thursday, Cole came off the bench and recorded six points, six steals and five assists in MSU's win over Weber State. Earlier this season, Cole dished out a career-high 11 assists against the College of Idaho. As a freshman, she played in 27 games, including 21 starts. As a frosh, Cole received her first start against CS Bakersfield playing 29 minutes and dishing out seven assists. MSU went 15-6 overall with Cole at the starting point-guard spot. Cole has notched a career-best 13 points on two occasions.

PHONE HOME:
Jackie Elliott, a true freshman from Billings, made two starts (UMW/CI) for the Bobcats with Chelsea Banis out of the line-up. Last weekend, Elliott came off the bench in both games against Weber State and Northern Arizona and nailed one 3-pointer. For the season, Elliott is averaging 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. The graduate of Billing Central notched a season-best 14 points against UM-Western and pulled down a season-best nine rebounds in MSU's win over Utah State. She is averaging 15.0 minutes per contest.

ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Kalli Durham and the Bobcats have a long and storied family history on the Bozeman campus. Durham's grandfather (Lin), uncle (Mick) and cousin (Casey) played for the Montana State men's team. Uncle Mick served as the men's head coach at MSU for 16 years and is the current head coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Father Mark is the current athletic director and former head men's coach at UM-Western. Last Saturday, Durham came off the bench and ignited the MSU offense with three 3-pointers and 13 points in 12 minutes of action. The Miles City native is 4th in the Big Sky shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc. She recorded a season-high 19 points against the College of Idaho.

ALLONS-Y CHATTE:
Destini French, a 6-foot-2 freshman center from Playa del Rey, Calif., is logging some playing time for the Bobcats after tearing her ACL and MCL her senior season at St. Bernard. French played two minutes against Weber State. On the season, she is averaging 4.2 minutes per game. French registered a career-high six points and hauled down four rebounds against the College of Idaho on Nov. 20, 2011.

SYMONE SAYS:
Symone Brown did not play last weekend. She saw her first action of the season against the College of Idaho and logged seven minutes. She pulled down two rebounds in the contest. Brown, a 5-9 guard who prepped at Richard Gahr High School, averaged 20.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a senior. As a senior, Brown was selected to the CIF Division 3AA First-Team, as well as the San Gabriel Valley League First-Team; Long Beach Press Telegram Dream Team; and the Cerritos Community News First-Team.

MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Jan. 16, 2012):

Katie Bussey
5-9, Senior, Guard
Alamosa, Colorado

Bussey averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game from her guard position as the Bocbats swept Weber State and Northern Arizona in Worthington Arena over the weekend. Bussey had her best output of the weekend against NAU with a game and season-high 26 points, including four 3-pointers. For the game, she shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and tied a MSU record hitting 12-of-12 from the free throw line. Bussey scored the last seven points of the first half and the first five points of the second stanza to help ignite the Bobcat offense.

WELCOME BACK, ELMO:
Bobcat sophomore forward Emily Allen rejoined the team after sitting out the first semester for personal reasons. The native of Gold Coast, Australia made her presence felt right away in MSU's win over North Dakota in Worthington Arena prior to the Christmas break. Against UND she registered a career-high 11 rebounds, to go along with eight points. Last weekend, Allen averaged nine minutes of action. Against Northern Arizona, she pulled down four rebounds, despite going 0-for-4 from the field. In MSU's win over Weber State, Allen posted two points and two rebounds. On the season, she is averaging 3.6 boards per game, which fifth highest on the Bobcat squad this winter.

COLLEGEINSIDER.COM:
The Bobcats fell from receiving 'other votes' in the collegeinsider.com's Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The No. 1 Mid-Major spot belongs to Wisconsin-Green Bay with 774 points. Both Idaho State (41) and Portland State (2) are receiving votes.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM:
The Bobcats rank among the league's top five in 16 of the Big Sky Conference's 21 statistical categories. MSU is ranked first in scoring margin (+7.1), defensive rebounds (28.4) and assist/turnover ratio (+1.0).

POWER OUTAGE:
MSU's only hiccup so far this season seems to be in its games against the 'so-called' power conferences. MSU finished 2-4 with wins over Colorado State (Mountain West) and Utah State (WAC) and losses to Oregon State (Pac-12), Wisconsin (Big 10), Illinois (Big 10) and #13 Georgia (SEC).

TOSSING THE ROCK:
Rachel Semansky is ranked 22nd in the nation in field-goal percentage hitting at a 54.7 percent clip.

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