Bobcats Tough Out Road Win at Northern Arizona

Thursday, February 11

Flagstaff, AZ

6:30 p.m.

Montana State University

18-5, 11-1BSC

Northern Arizona

6-17, 2-10BSC

Montana State

Northern Arizona

Lindsay Stockton had 19 points and 7 assists vs. NAU.

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

2/11/2016 10:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State cashed in on a pair of three-pointers and went nine-of-ten from the free throw line in the final three-minutes to post an 83-72 win over Northern Arizona, Thursday night in the Walkup Skydome.

MSU's 13-3 final run broke open a game which featured eight ties and five lead changes. The win, coupled with North Dakota's 72-69 victory over Eastern Washington, puts the Bobcats in sole possession of the top spot in the Big Sky Conference.

"It was a tough game to get into any kind of a flow," said MSU Head Coach Tricia Binford. "It was hard to establish a tempo, but I'm proud of the kids and their resiliency. Everyone stepped-up and just made plays to finish the game against a really tough opponent."

Montana State (18-5, 11-1) took a 34-29 advantage into intermission. Junior Riley Nordgaard paced the Bobcats in the first two quarters posting ten points and eight rebounds.

"Riley was all over the glass," Binford said.

Northern Arizona (6-17, 2-10) enjoyed a 14-4 run to open the third quarter, taking a 45-40 lead at the 4:09 mark on a layup via Taylor Leyva. The Bobcats closed out the stanza on an 11-5 run, giving MSU a one-point cushion heading into the final stanza.

"Lindsay (Stockton) really got us going heading into the fourth quarter," Binford said. "We got into some foul trouble and Annika (Lai) and Haley (Blodgett) came in and gave us good minutes. Margreet (Barhoum) hit a big three and Jasmine (Hommes) and Peyton (Ferris) really took over when we needed it the most. It was just a great team effort."

Hommes and Stockton each finished with a team-high 19 points. Hommes went eight-of-14 from the field and added seven rebounds. Stockton went three-of-four from 3-point range and dished out a game-high seven assists, as well.

Nordgaard recorded her second double-double in the last three games finishing with 15 points and ten rebounds. Ferris also hit double-digits with 17 points. Sophomore guard Hannah Caudill came off the bench to chip in seven points and five assists.

For the game, Montana State shot 53 percent from the field and 56 percent from three-point range, connecting on nine-of-16 attempts. MSU held a slight 34-31 advantage under the boards.

Northern Arizona was paced by freshman Alyssa Rader with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Montana State will play at Southern Utah on Saturday night in Cedar City.

NOTES: MSU Head Coach Tricia Binford won her 100^th Big Sky Conference game with the victory…MSU's 11 Big Sky wins matches the most league victories under Binford. Binford won 11 Big Sky games in 2008, 2011, and 2013.