Saturday, January 30
BOZEMAN
2 p.m.
Montana State University
15-5, 8-1BSC
61
vs
52
Montana
11-9, 4-5BSC
1
2
3
4
F
Montana
18
12
13
9
52
Montana State
14
11
17
19
61
MSU's Riley Nordgaard recorded 11 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists to lift the Bobcats to a 61-52 win over Montana, Saturday afternoon.
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcat Defense Sparks Montana State in Win over Lady Griz
1/30/2016 6:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State defense clamped down in the fourth quarter and the Bobcat offense fed off the energy of 3,526 fans in attendance as MSU rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to record a 61-52 victory over Montana in the 100th meeting between the two rivals, Saturday afternoon in Worthington Arena.
The Montana State defense clamped down in the fourth quarter and the Bobcat offense fed off the energy of 3,526 fans in attendance as MSU rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to record a 61-52 victory over Montana in the 100th meeting between the two rivals, Saturday afternoon in Worthington Arena.
Montana (11-9, 4-5) held a 30-25 advantage at intermission and pushed its lead to nine-points at the 9:04 mark of the third quarter. Montana State (15-5, 8-1) answered with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to even the score at 36-all. UM got the lead back to four points, but a pair of Lindsay Stockton free throws with five-seconds left in the quarter pulled MSU to within one-point.
In the final stanza, the Bobcat defense stifled Montana as the Lady Griz went 0-of-nine from the field. And, as the Lady Griz offense went cold, MSU started to heat things up connecting on 54 percent (7-13) from the floor in the final stanza.
Bobcat senior Jasmine Hommes gave Montana State its first lead since the opening quarter connecting on a layup with 8:39 left. The lead changed hands four times over the next three minutes with the last exchange coming via an old-fashion three-point play with 4:03 remaining by Riley Nordgaard.
Following a free throw by McCalle Feller at the 3:54 mark, MSU scored seven unanswered points capped by a Nordgaard layup on an assist from Stockton. Stockton went three-of-four at the line down the stretch to secure the win for Montana State.
The first half was a struggle for MSU as the Bobcats committed 12 turnovers and had a hard time containing Feller and Kayleigh Valley. On the offensive end, MSU struggled as well in its attempt to get the ball inside.
"Every team has a bit little of identity about them and the character of this team is they find ways even when it's not particularly pretty," said MSU 11th year head coach Tricia Binford. "We really struggled in the first half and give the Griz credit. They were extremely physical, they threw off a lot of our passes, we didn't get position where we wanted to be catching, mainly because of their physicality.
"We were really impatient on our offensive end and I thought we played pretty fast in that first half," Binford continued. "But once that second half started, we played a great third quarter. I think it was a one-point lead for them at the end of the third. I felt really good about us at that point even though we weren't in control or in charge.
"We talked about just getting over the hump and at that point anything could happen," Binford said. "But, the last three minutes of the game this team is just really steady, they have great composure and I think that comes with the experience, but I think we have just great leadership on this team."
Peyton Ferris paced Montana State with a team-high 16 points, while Nordgaard 11, Stockton 11, and Alexa Dawkins 10 all hit double-figures. Nordgaard, a product of Canby, Minn., also finished with a team-high nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Montana was led by Valley 17 and Feller 14. Feller, who had 12 points at intermission, went 0-of-five in the second half, while Valley also went without a field goal, but did convert eight-of-eight from the charity stripe.
"Kudos to Montana," Nordgaard said. "Feller and Valley are very talented players, and some of the best we'll see all year. I thought they played really hard and the first three quarters they were up on us, and it took us a little bit to adjust to their physicality. But, ultimately, I was proud of the way we responded and really adjusted to their personnel and how we matched up."
With the win, Montana State stays atop the Big Sky standings with Eastern Washington at 8-1. MSU has won nine of its last ten games, while Montana dropped its fourth straight game.
MSU will host Portland State next Thursday in Worthington Arena.
Montana (11-9, 4-5) held a 30-25 advantage at intermission and pushed its lead to nine-points at the 9:04 mark of the third quarter. Montana State (15-5, 8-1) answered with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to even the score at 36-all. UM got the lead back to four points, but a pair of Lindsay Stockton free throws with five-seconds left in the quarter pulled MSU to within one-point.
In the final stanza, the Bobcat defense stifled Montana as the Lady Griz went 0-of-nine from the field. And, as the Lady Griz offense went cold, MSU started to heat things up connecting on 54 percent (7-13) from the floor in the final stanza.
Bobcat senior Jasmine Hommes gave Montana State its first lead since the opening quarter connecting on a layup with 8:39 left. The lead changed hands four times over the next three minutes with the last exchange coming via an old-fashion three-point play with 4:03 remaining by Riley Nordgaard.
Following a free throw by McCalle Feller at the 3:54 mark, MSU scored seven unanswered points capped by a Nordgaard layup on an assist from Stockton. Stockton went three-of-four at the line down the stretch to secure the win for Montana State.
The first half was a struggle for MSU as the Bobcats committed 12 turnovers and had a hard time containing Feller and Kayleigh Valley. On the offensive end, MSU struggled as well in its attempt to get the ball inside.
"Every team has a bit little of identity about them and the character of this team is they find ways even when it's not particularly pretty," said MSU 11th year head coach Tricia Binford. "We really struggled in the first half and give the Griz credit. They were extremely physical, they threw off a lot of our passes, we didn't get position where we wanted to be catching, mainly because of their physicality.
"We were really impatient on our offensive end and I thought we played pretty fast in that first half," Binford continued. "But once that second half started, we played a great third quarter. I think it was a one-point lead for them at the end of the third. I felt really good about us at that point even though we weren't in control or in charge.
"We talked about just getting over the hump and at that point anything could happen," Binford said. "But, the last three minutes of the game this team is just really steady, they have great composure and I think that comes with the experience, but I think we have just great leadership on this team."
Peyton Ferris paced Montana State with a team-high 16 points, while Nordgaard 11, Stockton 11, and Alexa Dawkins 10 all hit double-figures. Nordgaard, a product of Canby, Minn., also finished with a team-high nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Montana was led by Valley 17 and Feller 14. Feller, who had 12 points at intermission, went 0-of-five in the second half, while Valley also went without a field goal, but did convert eight-of-eight from the charity stripe.
"Kudos to Montana," Nordgaard said. "Feller and Valley are very talented players, and some of the best we'll see all year. I thought they played really hard and the first three quarters they were up on us, and it took us a little bit to adjust to their physicality. But, ultimately, I was proud of the way we responded and really adjusted to their personnel and how we matched up."
With the win, Montana State stays atop the Big Sky standings with Eastern Washington at 8-1. MSU has won nine of its last ten games, while Montana dropped its fourth straight game.
MSU will host Portland State next Thursday in Worthington Arena.
Team Stats
UM
MSU
FG%
.265
.438
3FG%
.263
.250
FT%
.840
.762
RB
36
31
TO
18
17
STL
8
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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