Friday, March 18
Salt Lake City, UT
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Utah
Bobcat junior and Big Sky Newcomer of the Year Riley Nordgaard.
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcats Face Utes in Opening Round of WNIT
3/16/2016 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
For the third time in Montana State history the women’s basketball team will play in the WNIT. MSU will face Pac-12 opponent Utah, Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in the Jon M. Hunstman Center in Salt Lake City. The winner will advance to play either UC Riverside or Gonzaga. The UCR-Gonzaga game is slated for Wednesday night in Spokane.
STILL DANCING:
For the third time in Montana State history the women's basketball team will play in the WNIT. MSU will face Pac-12 opponent Utah, Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in the Jon M. Hunstman Center in Salt Lake City. The winner will advance to play either UC Riverside or Gonzaga. The UCR-Gonzaga game is slated for Thursday night in Spokane.
TOURNEY HISTORY:
MSU has played in the WNIT on two previous occasions. The first trip was in March of 1988 as the old format had eight teams gathering in Amarillo, Texas and hosted by its Chamber of Commerce. The Cats lost on three straight days to New Orleans, Mississippi State and UNLV. DePaul defeated Purdue for the title that season. The Bobcats next appearance was at Colorado State on March 21, 2003. The Rams defeated MSU 87-74 with current Bobcat assistant Kati Burrows (then a sophomore) scoring 10 points, while hauling down four rebounds.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS:
For the first time in Montana State women's basketball history the Bobcats won an outright Big Sky Conference regular-season title. Despite going 0-2 on its last road trip of the season at Northern Colorado and North Dakota, MSU got some help from a couple of league foes and when the dust settled Montana State's 14-4 league ledger was good enough to win the title. The Bobcats have won four Big Sky titles - 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2016. It's only Big Sky Conference Tournament title was in 1993, when the Cats defeated Montana and advanced to the NCAAs where it lost to Washington in the opening-round.
A CLOSER LOOK:
MSU is 21-9 overall, which is its best record since the 2002-03 Bobcats went 21-9 overall, en route to a WNIT berth. Montana State's 14 Big Sky wins is the most under Tricia Binford. MSU's 20-win season is its first since the 2002-03 campaign. The 1987-88 team posted the most wins in school history at 24, while the 1992-93 championship squad logged 22 victories.
THE LAST TIME OUT:
The Montana State women's basketball team missed five of six free throw attempts in the final one-minute, 23-seconds and Idaho State scored ten unanswered points, including a 27-foot heave with 0.2-seconds left by Juliet Jones as the Bengals escaped with a 52-50 win over the Bobcats in the second round of the Big Sky Tournament in Reno. Peyton Ferris led the Cats with 16 points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Utah is 16-14 overall and ended the regular season with an 8-10 mark in league play to finish in seventh after being picked 11th in the preseason coaches poll last October. This will be Utah's 28th postseason appearance (AIAW, WNIT and NCAA) in school history and the Utes are 25-31 all-time in postseason play. This is Utah's eighth time in the WNIT and the Utes hold a 9-11 all-time record in the tournament, including a 3-0 mark when hosting. Utah Head Coach Lynne Roberts has led her teams to the postseason in each of the last five seasons. The Utes were 7-0 in non-conference games in the Huntsman Center this season, outscoring their opponents 78.3 to 60.4. Utah also held a 45.9 to 34.1 edge in rebounds over their foes with a .468 (199-425) to .329 (147-447) advantage in shooting percentage. Utah has used the same starting line-up - G - Danielle Rodriguez, W - Malia Nawahine, W - Paige Crozon, W - Tanaeya Boclair, F- Emily Potter. The Utes have been paced this season by Potter and Crozon, who average 15.1 and 12. 8 points per game, respectively. Potter, a 6-5 sophomore from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also averages a team-best 9.9 rebounds, while recording 75 blocked shots. Crozon, a 6-1 junior from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, is second on the squad with 46 3-pointers, while leading the Utes with 29 steals.
UTAH BULLETS:
Utah is 6-1 this season in games decided by five points or less... Utah is 13-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points this season. Conversely, the Utes are 0-9 when not scoring at least 60 points... Utah is 13-5 when holding its opponents to 70 points or less... The Utes have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting in 11 of their 16 victories. - Notes/Bullets courtesy Utah SID
PEYTON, BUT NOT MANNING... FERRIS, BUT NOT BUELLER:
Junior Peyton Ferris had a performance for the ages in Montana State's 92-71 win over Weber State on Feb. 25. The Twin Bridges product made her first nine baskets and finished the game with a career-high 33 points on 16-of-17 from the field. Her shooting prowess of 94.1 percent set a school record breaking the old mark of 90.9 percent by Lori Cloar on Feb. 26, 1989.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes became the 21st member of Montana State's prestigious 1,000-point club and the second Hommes to accomplish the milestone in the Blue and Gold. Hommes' Aunt Blythe Hommes-Hintz recorded a career 1,265 points from 1993-97. Blythe Hommes is currently 12th on MSU's all-time list, after Jasmine Hommes passed her at Idaho on Jan. 23. Jasmine now sits sixth with 1,439 points. Blythe Hommes was the 1997 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Montana State Athletics Hall of Fame. Another aunt, Brooke Hommes-Dunham (1992-96), was a four-time All-Big Sky Conference Academic pick for the Bobcats. Last week, Jasmine Hommes joined Aunt Blythe as a Big Sky Conference MVP. Hommes was also a unanimous first-team all-league pick.
BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER:
Montana State junior Peyton Ferris picked up where she left of last season. Last week, she was named Big Sky Conference Top Reserve for the second straight year. The Twin Bridges product is second on the squad averaging 15.0 points and is second in rebounding at 5.7 rebounds per game. Ferris is also shooting a Big Sky Conference leading 58 percent from the field. She also garnered Second-Team All-BSC honors, last week as well.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK:
Like her dad, NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, Lindsay Stockton has done an outstanding job distributing and taking care of the basketball. Stockton is second on the team averaging 3.7 assists per game. Her assist/turnover ratio is currently +1.2.
THE LIFE OF RILEY:
Transfer Riley Nordgaard, who sat out under NCAA rules last winter after coming to MSU from Augustana in South Dakota, has made an impact on the Bobcat squad. The Canby, Minnesota product is averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game. In addition, she has connected on 50-of-118 three-point attempts shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. For her efforts, Nordgaard was the 2016 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year.
FATHER'S DAY:
Lindsay Stockton is the daughter of legendary NBA Hall of Famer and former Utah Jazz standout John Stockton, while Alexa Dawkins' father Dale played football on the University of Miami's 1987 National Championship team. Dawkins later went on to play wide receiver for the New York Jets from 1990-93.
THE LILAC CITY:
Three Bobcat players are from Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier combined for 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two 3-pointers last weekend. This winter, Caudill, a graduate of Gonzaga Prep, nailed the decisive 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining at Sacramento State on Jan. 7 to give the Bobcats the win. She also posted her first double-double of her career dishing out ten assists at Sac State. Ironically, her second double-double came against Sacramento State on Feb. 6 with 13 points and ten assists. Fellow Bullpup Lindsay Stockton is second on the team dishing out 106 assists. Junkermier, a Mead High graduate, tallied a career-high 19 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Feb. 6. Against the Hornets, Junkermier connected on a career-best six 3-pointers.
HARD BLOCK CAFE:
The Bobcats established a new single-game school record against the University of Montana Western on Dec. 15 with 12 blocked shots. The old mark - held three times - was set last against Valparaiso on Dec. 1, 2013.
TOSSING THE ROCK:
Montana State set a new school record with 32 assists in its 106-59 win at Portland State on Jan. 9. The old mark of 31 was set against Nevada (1978-88) and Idaho State (2003-04).
A HELPING HAND:
MSU is tenth in the nation in assists per game at 17.8.
BOBCAT OFFENSE IS LIT:
Montana State established a new school record with 116 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 6. In addition, the Bobcats also set a new school record shooting 81.8 percent (9-11) from beyond the 3-point arc.
CHARITY CASE:
MSU hit a record 41-of-54 FTs vs. Idaho State, 2/27/16.
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Eleventh-year head coach Tricia Binford was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading MSU to a regular-season outright title and the squad's best season since 2002-03. In addition, Binford signed a three-year contract renewal, pending Board of Regents approval, to continue at the helm of the Bobcat program.
BOBCAT BULLETS:
Hannah Caudill has 163 assists, which is 2nd most in a single-season at MSU...for the first time since the 1987-88 season, MSU has two players over 100 assists (Caudill 163 & Lindsay Stockton 106). The last duo to accomplish the milestone were Liz Holz (200) and Ann Reno (102)...Riley Nordgaard's 74 steals are the 10th best recorded in a single-season at MSU...Jasmine Hommes' 32 blocks are the 8th best in single-season history...Ferris' 111 free throws are 7th best.
For the third time in Montana State history the women's basketball team will play in the WNIT. MSU will face Pac-12 opponent Utah, Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in the Jon M. Hunstman Center in Salt Lake City. The winner will advance to play either UC Riverside or Gonzaga. The UCR-Gonzaga game is slated for Thursday night in Spokane.
TOURNEY HISTORY:
MSU has played in the WNIT on two previous occasions. The first trip was in March of 1988 as the old format had eight teams gathering in Amarillo, Texas and hosted by its Chamber of Commerce. The Cats lost on three straight days to New Orleans, Mississippi State and UNLV. DePaul defeated Purdue for the title that season. The Bobcats next appearance was at Colorado State on March 21, 2003. The Rams defeated MSU 87-74 with current Bobcat assistant Kati Burrows (then a sophomore) scoring 10 points, while hauling down four rebounds.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS:
For the first time in Montana State women's basketball history the Bobcats won an outright Big Sky Conference regular-season title. Despite going 0-2 on its last road trip of the season at Northern Colorado and North Dakota, MSU got some help from a couple of league foes and when the dust settled Montana State's 14-4 league ledger was good enough to win the title. The Bobcats have won four Big Sky titles - 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2016. It's only Big Sky Conference Tournament title was in 1993, when the Cats defeated Montana and advanced to the NCAAs where it lost to Washington in the opening-round.
A CLOSER LOOK:
MSU is 21-9 overall, which is its best record since the 2002-03 Bobcats went 21-9 overall, en route to a WNIT berth. Montana State's 14 Big Sky wins is the most under Tricia Binford. MSU's 20-win season is its first since the 2002-03 campaign. The 1987-88 team posted the most wins in school history at 24, while the 1992-93 championship squad logged 22 victories.
THE LAST TIME OUT:
The Montana State women's basketball team missed five of six free throw attempts in the final one-minute, 23-seconds and Idaho State scored ten unanswered points, including a 27-foot heave with 0.2-seconds left by Juliet Jones as the Bengals escaped with a 52-50 win over the Bobcats in the second round of the Big Sky Tournament in Reno. Peyton Ferris led the Cats with 16 points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Utah is 16-14 overall and ended the regular season with an 8-10 mark in league play to finish in seventh after being picked 11th in the preseason coaches poll last October. This will be Utah's 28th postseason appearance (AIAW, WNIT and NCAA) in school history and the Utes are 25-31 all-time in postseason play. This is Utah's eighth time in the WNIT and the Utes hold a 9-11 all-time record in the tournament, including a 3-0 mark when hosting. Utah Head Coach Lynne Roberts has led her teams to the postseason in each of the last five seasons. The Utes were 7-0 in non-conference games in the Huntsman Center this season, outscoring their opponents 78.3 to 60.4. Utah also held a 45.9 to 34.1 edge in rebounds over their foes with a .468 (199-425) to .329 (147-447) advantage in shooting percentage. Utah has used the same starting line-up - G - Danielle Rodriguez, W - Malia Nawahine, W - Paige Crozon, W - Tanaeya Boclair, F- Emily Potter. The Utes have been paced this season by Potter and Crozon, who average 15.1 and 12. 8 points per game, respectively. Potter, a 6-5 sophomore from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also averages a team-best 9.9 rebounds, while recording 75 blocked shots. Crozon, a 6-1 junior from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, is second on the squad with 46 3-pointers, while leading the Utes with 29 steals.
UTAH BULLETS:
Utah is 6-1 this season in games decided by five points or less... Utah is 13-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points this season. Conversely, the Utes are 0-9 when not scoring at least 60 points... Utah is 13-5 when holding its opponents to 70 points or less... The Utes have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting in 11 of their 16 victories. - Notes/Bullets courtesy Utah SID
PEYTON, BUT NOT MANNING... FERRIS, BUT NOT BUELLER:
Junior Peyton Ferris had a performance for the ages in Montana State's 92-71 win over Weber State on Feb. 25. The Twin Bridges product made her first nine baskets and finished the game with a career-high 33 points on 16-of-17 from the field. Her shooting prowess of 94.1 percent set a school record breaking the old mark of 90.9 percent by Lori Cloar on Feb. 26, 1989.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes became the 21st member of Montana State's prestigious 1,000-point club and the second Hommes to accomplish the milestone in the Blue and Gold. Hommes' Aunt Blythe Hommes-Hintz recorded a career 1,265 points from 1993-97. Blythe Hommes is currently 12th on MSU's all-time list, after Jasmine Hommes passed her at Idaho on Jan. 23. Jasmine now sits sixth with 1,439 points. Blythe Hommes was the 1997 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Montana State Athletics Hall of Fame. Another aunt, Brooke Hommes-Dunham (1992-96), was a four-time All-Big Sky Conference Academic pick for the Bobcats. Last week, Jasmine Hommes joined Aunt Blythe as a Big Sky Conference MVP. Hommes was also a unanimous first-team all-league pick.
BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER:
Montana State junior Peyton Ferris picked up where she left of last season. Last week, she was named Big Sky Conference Top Reserve for the second straight year. The Twin Bridges product is second on the squad averaging 15.0 points and is second in rebounding at 5.7 rebounds per game. Ferris is also shooting a Big Sky Conference leading 58 percent from the field. She also garnered Second-Team All-BSC honors, last week as well.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK:
Like her dad, NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, Lindsay Stockton has done an outstanding job distributing and taking care of the basketball. Stockton is second on the team averaging 3.7 assists per game. Her assist/turnover ratio is currently +1.2.
THE LIFE OF RILEY:
Transfer Riley Nordgaard, who sat out under NCAA rules last winter after coming to MSU from Augustana in South Dakota, has made an impact on the Bobcat squad. The Canby, Minnesota product is averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game. In addition, she has connected on 50-of-118 three-point attempts shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. For her efforts, Nordgaard was the 2016 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year.
FATHER'S DAY:
Lindsay Stockton is the daughter of legendary NBA Hall of Famer and former Utah Jazz standout John Stockton, while Alexa Dawkins' father Dale played football on the University of Miami's 1987 National Championship team. Dawkins later went on to play wide receiver for the New York Jets from 1990-93.
THE LILAC CITY:
Three Bobcat players are from Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier combined for 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two 3-pointers last weekend. This winter, Caudill, a graduate of Gonzaga Prep, nailed the decisive 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining at Sacramento State on Jan. 7 to give the Bobcats the win. She also posted her first double-double of her career dishing out ten assists at Sac State. Ironically, her second double-double came against Sacramento State on Feb. 6 with 13 points and ten assists. Fellow Bullpup Lindsay Stockton is second on the team dishing out 106 assists. Junkermier, a Mead High graduate, tallied a career-high 19 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Feb. 6. Against the Hornets, Junkermier connected on a career-best six 3-pointers.
HARD BLOCK CAFE:
The Bobcats established a new single-game school record against the University of Montana Western on Dec. 15 with 12 blocked shots. The old mark - held three times - was set last against Valparaiso on Dec. 1, 2013.
TOSSING THE ROCK:
Montana State set a new school record with 32 assists in its 106-59 win at Portland State on Jan. 9. The old mark of 31 was set against Nevada (1978-88) and Idaho State (2003-04).
A HELPING HAND:
MSU is tenth in the nation in assists per game at 17.8.
BOBCAT OFFENSE IS LIT:
Montana State established a new school record with 116 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 6. In addition, the Bobcats also set a new school record shooting 81.8 percent (9-11) from beyond the 3-point arc.
CHARITY CASE:
MSU hit a record 41-of-54 FTs vs. Idaho State, 2/27/16.
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Eleventh-year head coach Tricia Binford was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading MSU to a regular-season outright title and the squad's best season since 2002-03. In addition, Binford signed a three-year contract renewal, pending Board of Regents approval, to continue at the helm of the Bobcat program.
BOBCAT BULLETS:
Hannah Caudill has 163 assists, which is 2nd most in a single-season at MSU...for the first time since the 1987-88 season, MSU has two players over 100 assists (Caudill 163 & Lindsay Stockton 106). The last duo to accomplish the milestone were Liz Holz (200) and Ann Reno (102)...Riley Nordgaard's 74 steals are the 10th best recorded in a single-season at MSU...Jasmine Hommes' 32 blocks are the 8th best in single-season history...Ferris' 111 free throws are 7th best.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Wednesday, January 26
vs. Seattle (Live Stream Video)
Saturday, December 18
Inside The Brick (Lexi Deden)
Thursday, November 04
Inside The Brick (Leia Beattie)
Tuesday, November 02
