TCU Uses Big First Half Surge to Hold Off Cats in Second Stanza

Saturday, December 8

Fort Worth, TX

12 p.m.

Montana State University

4-4

TCU

7-1

Montana State

TCU

Senior Claire Lundberg

Photo by: Ricky Bassman

TCU Uses Big First Half Surge to Hold Off Cats in Second Stanza

12/8/2018 3:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

“I thought our kids responded and battled in the second half and we did a much better job compared to the first – it was a three-point game in the second half,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford.

By: Tom Schulz

FORT WORTH, Texas - It was a tale of two halves.

TCU used a late first quarter run to pull away from Montana State, building a double-digit lead, and despite a strong second half effort by the Bobcats, kept its first half margin en route to a 71-49 win over MSU on Saturday afternoon in Schollmaier Arena.

"I thought our kids responded and battled in the second half and we did a much better job compared to the first – it was a three-point game in the second half," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "Our captains said it best in the locker room that we need to put two halves together. We had a first half against Stephen F. Austin and a second half (today). We just have to be mentally capable of putting two great halves together."

TCU (7-1) used a late first quarter run and carried it over into the second stanza scoring eleven unanswered points to build a double-figure lead. Montana State's (4-4) Claire Lundberg ended the five-minute and three-seconds drought with a jumper, but the Horned Frogs were able to take a 39-20 advantage into intermission.

"We struggled to get into an offensive flow, and a lot of that is credit to TCU," Binford said. "We lacked a lot of floor balance in our motion just getting to spots and getting cuts and just getting the ball rolling and moving. We've got to be a lot sharper than that."

TCU out-scored MSU 32-29 in the second half, as the Bobcats stepped-up its defensive effort and were able to get Lundberg, its leading scorer, better looks. Lundberg, who was held to four points in the opening 20-minutes, finished with a team-high 16 points, connecting on seven-of-16 from the field.

The Horned Frogs held a sizeable 25-12 lead under the glass in the opening half. The Bobcats were able to cut the margin to 17-16 in the final 20-minutes. Madeline Smith guided MSU with a team-best four rebounds.

Freshman Halle Wright got her first start as a Bobcat running the point. The Aumsville, Ore., product finished with a team-high four assists, while chipping in three rebounds and two points.

MSU had a hard time connecting from long distance. The Bobcats, who entered the contest fourth in the Big Sky Conference in three-point makes, converted just two-of-20 from long distance.

"We're continuing to progress and get better," Binford said. "I told the team these are teams (TCU) we want to be playing. This is the level we want to get to as a program. We've got some work to do, but at the same time I'm proud of our second half effort and that is something we can build on."

TCU was led by Jordan Moore with 17 points and seven rebounds. The 6-3 senior from Round Rock, Texas, finished shooting eight-of-eight from the field.

Montana State will host Omaha on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. in Worthington Arena.