Bobctats Fall to Lady Griz on Late Three-Pointer

Saturday, February 20

Missoula, MT

2 p.m.

Montana State University

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Montana

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Montana State

Montana

Peyton Ferris led a Bobcat rally that fell just short Saturday in Missoula

Photo by: Todd Goodrich

2/20/2016 5:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MSU overcomes bad shooting luck to climb back into game

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State battled through adversity of all varieties, but in the end a key three was too much to overcome.

Suffering through its second-worst shooting day of the conference season, making just one three-point field goal, Montana State grabbed its only lead of the second half on a pair of Peyton Ferris free throws with 25 seconds to play. But Haley Vining's three-pointer with 14 seconds to play restored Montana's lead, and the Grizzlies held on to hand MSU a 70-66 loss.

"We definitely wanted to try to keep it out of (Kayleigh) Valley's hands," said Bobcat coach Tricia Binford. "We knew they'd try to go into her and we wanted to force someone else to hit a shot. (Vining) hit a big shot."

The game-winner, capped by a pair of late free throws after an out-of-bounds call originally awarded to MSU was over-ruled by replay controversially, was one of two shots made on the afternoon by Vining. Valley finished with a game-high 23 for Montana.

That Montana State entered the closing moments with a chance to win the game seemed unlikely for most of the afternoon. The Grizzlies used a second quarter spurt to grab the lead, built it to double-digits at the end of the first half, then maintained a comfortable double-digit margin until the fourth quarter.

Ferris led the charge for the Cats. After Montana opened the fourth quarter with an Alycia Sims jumper to lead 51-40, Ferris hit three jumpers and two free throws to pull MSU within 51-48 at 6:49. The game became a free throw contest for several possessions, and when Sims hit one at 2:31 UM led 61-55.

Riley Nordgaard hit MSU's only three-pointer of the afternoon – the Cats finished 1-for-11 from the arc – to slice the lead in half at 61-58. A minute-and-a-half later Ferris hit a jumper to pull the Cats within one, then her free throws gave MSU its short-lived lead.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead, scoring the game's first six points, but made field goals became hard to come by for the visitors after starting 3-for-3. The Bobcats missed their next six and 18 of their final 23 shots in the first half. Turnovers compounded the shooting woes. MSU gave the ball away 10 times in the first two quarters, many of the unforced variety.

Binford said MSU's first half dry spell ultimately spelled doom. "We had only eight points in the second quarter," she said. "We need to be able to put points on the board. When we don't make shots we can't play at our tempo, and shots just didn't fall for us."

While Montana State's offense cooled as the half went, UM's heated considerable. After missing nine of their first 11 shots, the Lady Griz hit 12 of their final 22.

The Bobcats maintained their lead through the game's first 12 minutes, but a jumper by Kayleigh Valley tied the score at 14 and came in the middle of what would be an 11-0 run. MSU's inside tandem of Lexi Dawkins (3-for-5, six points) and Jasmine Hommes (4-for-7, 10 points) were nearly unstoppable in the first half, but the rest of the Bobcats combined for 1-for-14 shooting and all 10 turnovers. Valley and Alycia Sims each scored eight in the first two quarters for UM.

As lop-sided as the game was one direction or another, it still came down to the final seconds, which made Binford proud. "A lot of teams wouldn't have had the fight to get back in that game," she said. "I'm proud our kids did."

Vining's shot ended the fight. "We stayed aggressive and took away their best shots," Ferris said of the crucial sequence. "Props to Vining. She hit one of her most important shots when it counted."

MSU shot just 35.5% on the game, 30.8% in the first half. The Cats held Montana to 42% shooting, and out-rebounded UM 45-to-36. Turnovers were a problem for the Bobcats, as MSU gave the ball away 14 times while taking it away just 10 times.

Even with the loss, Montana State wakes up Sunday in first place in the Big Sky. The Cats are 19-6 overall, 12-2 in league play. Montana is 16-9, 9-5. The Bobcats host Weber State and Idaho State next weekend.