Montana State University
Montana
Cat-Griz: Part II
2/21/2018 7:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State will travel to Missoula in search of a season sweep over the Lady Griz on Saturday afternoon.
MSU WBB NOTES l UM WBB NOTES l LIVE VIDEO l LIVE STATS
MONTANA STATE (14-12, 8-7) at MONTANA (12-14, 8-7)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018
Tipoff: 2:05 p.m. (MST)
Site: Dahlberg Arena (7,200) * Missoula, MT
Radio: 1450 AM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
Live Video: Pluto TV (ch. 237) or WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: gogriz.com
Live Audio: msubobcats.com/watch
Live TV: SWX Television: Shaun Rainey, Play-by--Play; Krista Redpath, Color
NEXT UP: The Montana State women's basketball team will begin its final three games on the road, beginning at Montana on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. MSU will travel to Missoula on Friday night. Saturday's game will be televised state-wide on SWX Montana: 18.3/28.3 over the air, cable channel 199, and will be streamed live on the Watch SWX app.
ON A SERIES NOTE: Montana leads the all-time series 77-27, but the Bobcats have had the upper-hand lately winning five of the last six meetings, including a convincing 81-64 victory over the Lady Griz on Jan. 20 in Worthington Arena. Last year in Missoula (Feb. 4), the Bobcats pulled out a dramatic win coming back from a nine-point deficit with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation. MSU won the game in overtime 75-69 behind an 18-1 run which began at the 2:20 mark of the fourth quarter. The run was sparked by six points via current Bobcat senior Delany Junkermier. Junkermier finished the game with 13 points, while Hannah Caudill added 10. The star of the game was Big Sky Conference MVP Peyton Ferris, who poured in 27 points, while hauling down 12 rebounds in the Montana State victory.
THE NITTY GRITTY: According to the Feb. 19, 2018 NCAA Nitty-Gritty rankings the Bobcats are currently ranked #233 in the country. The highest Big Sky Conference listing belongs to Northern Colorado at #38. The Bears are followed by #128 Portland State, #130 Idaho, #144 Idaho State, #169 Weber State, #176 North Dakota and #174 Eastern Washington. Ranked behind Montana State is #247 Montana, #279 Sacramento State, #312 Northern Arizona and #319 Southern Utah. The Bobcats finished the 2016-17 season ranked #59 - its highest finish ever.
BREAKING VINYL: Senior Hannah Caudill set the all-time mark for career assists when she dished out eight in MSU's win over North Dakota on Feb. 1. The Spokane, Wash., product now has 482 career assists, which surpassed the old mark of 443 set by Vicki Heebner-Carle from 1980-84. Her current total is also 12th best in Big Sky Conference history as she moved passed Kelly Pilcher of Montana (1990-94) with ten assists against Eastern Washington on Saturday. Additionally, Caudill became the 23rd member of MSU's 1000-point club on Saturday afternoon.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Cats saw the nation's second longest home court win streak snapped against Portland State on Jan. 11. The loss broke MSU's 31-game home streak, which was second to national power UConn (77). Before the loss to the Vikings, Montana State's last defeat in Worthington Arena was a 62-49 decision to San Diego on Nov. 24, 2015. MSU has won 35 of its last 38 games in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. On another note, the Cats finished the 2017-18 season averaging 2,397 fans per game, which ranks 55th in the nation and second in the Big Sky Conference.
DISHING THE ROCK: Senior Hannah Caudill's set the all-time Montana State assists record at the 6:10 mark of the opening quarter against North Dakota on Feb. 1 when she found Blaire Braxton on the right block. Caudill finished the game with eight assists. She now has 482 career assists. In addition, Caudill is second all-time in three-point field-goals made with 220 triples (only the second Bobcat to go over 201 makes) and is second all-time in career three-point field-goal percentage hitting at a 38.8 percent clip. Caudill posted a season-best 10 assists against Eastern Washington on Saturday and currently ranks first in the Big Sky averaging 5.0 assists per game. Her 2.7 three-point makes per contest are fifth best in the league. Caudill's current +1.8 assist-turnover ratio is fourth in the Big Sky. Caudill matched a career-high 24 points at North Dakota on Jan.6, connecting on nine-of-19 from the field, including four 3-pointers. The product of Spokane, Wash., has connected on season-high six 3-pointers against both Long Beach State and Southern Utah. Caudill was named to the Oregon State/Maui Jim Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 11 points and two assists per game. Last Thursday, she registered 11 points which included a three-of-seven effort from beyond the arc against Idaho. Caudill also dished out eight assists versus the Vandals. On Saturday, she posted 10 points against EWU and became the 23rd member of MSU's 1,000-point club. Her current total of 1,005 points is tied for 22nd all-time with former guard Kalli Durham (2011-15).
JUNK MAIL: Delany Junkermier recorded a career-high 23 points in Montana State's win over Sacramento State on Jan. 13. Against the Hornets, she shot seven-of-12 from the field, including a five-of-six effort from beyond the arc. In her last her 14 games, she has posted 20 or more points on three occasions and has been in double-figure scoring on 13 occasions this season. Junkermier is averaging 15.4 points per game, while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and has connected on 37 3-pointers in Big Sky Conference games. The Mead High graduate is currently second in the Big Sky in 3-point field-goal percentage (.474), fourth in three-point field goal makes per game (2.6), tenth in field-goal percentage (.474) and 11th in scoring (15.4). Junkermier moved into fifth on MSU's all-time top 10 3-point makes list on Saturday. She currently has 143 career three-pointers. On Saturday, Junkermier tallied 17 points on seven-of-12 from the field. She also had seven rebounds.
MAD ABOUT YOU: Madeline Smith is making an impact in her second season with the Bobcats. The product of Snohomish, Washington is averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.2 percent from the field, connecting on 121-232 attempts. Against Omaha on Nov. 17, Smith recorded her first-ever double-double with 18 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Smith pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds against Providence on Nov. 15, which was just two shy of the Bobcat school-record of 21 set by Cass Bauer in 1994. On Nov. 25, Smith registered a career-high 23 points in MSU's win over MSU Billings. For the game, she connected on 11-16 from the field and went one-of-one at the line. Smith is sixth in the Big Sky in rebounds per game, while her 52.2 percent field-goal percentage is second best. Her 8.0 rebounds per game is the 27th highest total by a sophomore at the NCAA Division I level so far this season. On Saturday, Smith notched six points and pulled down three rebounds against EWU.
HOLY MOLY, OLI: Oliana Squires has started all 26 games and is averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. The Colorado Springs, Colo., product posted a career-high 21 points in Montana State's win over Northern Arizona on Jan. 25. For the game, she connected on eight-of-14 from the field, including a five-of-eight effort from long distance. Squires is currently second on the squad with 52 triples. On. Jan 27 at Southern Utah, Squires saw her streak of 11 consecutive double-figure scoring games snapped as the T-Birds held her to seven points. Squires posted six points against Idaho on Thursday night and added six more against EWU on Saturday afternoon.
HATCHET JOB: Senior Rebekah Hatchard has started the last 15 games for the Bobcats and has averaged 10.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game over that span. Hatchard recorded a career-high 18 points against North Dakota on Feb. 1, connecting on seven-of-10 from the field and three-of-six from long distance. She is currently shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on 22-55, which ranks tenth in the Big Sky. In addition, the native of Adelaide, Australia is ninth in the Big Sky in field-goal percentage hitting at a 50 percent clip.
SECRET BRAXTON FAMILY RECIPE: Blaire Braxton is currently third on the squad averaging 5.0 boards per contest. Last season as a true-freshman, Braxton started all 32 games and averaged 6.8 rebounds per game. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., product has recorded two games with 10 rebounds or more this season. Last winter, Braxton registered four double-digit rebounding games, including a career-high 14 boards at Sacramento State. Braxton swatted a career-high five blocks against Wyoming on Nov. 29 and she recorded a career-high five assists in MSU's win over Long Beach State. Her current 1.23 blocks per game is eighth in the Big Sky and ranks 170th in the nation. Last weekend, she averaged 2.0 points and 4.0 rebounds against Idaho and Eastern Washington. Braxton's brother Zach is currently in his third season at Big Sky rival Weber State. The elder Braxton is also a force under the boards, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
THROWING SHAIDE: Sophomore Madisyn Shaide is averaging 2.7 minutes per game. The Missoula Big Sky grad has played in 15 games this season. Shaide logged 12 minutes at Northern Arizona on Jan. 25 and notched three points and two rebounds.
FAB FROSH: All five of Montana State's freshmen have made an impact this season. Leading the contingent is 5-8 guard Tori Martell who has found her stroke from long distance over the past two weeks. The product of Somerset, Wis., is fourth on the team with 30 three-pointers. Over the past two weeks, Martell has averaged 13.7 points, while shooting 62 percent (13-21) from long distance. On Saturday against Eastern Washington, Martell notched a season-high 18 points, all from beyond the arc. Laura Pranger, a 6-2 forward from Centennial, Colo., received her first collegiate start against Northern Arizona on Dec. 30 and notched a career-best 12 points connecting on five-of-six from the field and two-of-two from three-point range. For the season, Pranger is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and is averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. She is currently third on the team with 21 blocked shots. Last weekend, Pranger had nine points against Idaho. Ashley Van Sickle, along with Martell, have combined for 51 three-pointers and are averaging a combined 7.1 points per game. Van Sickle recorded eight points in MSU's loss to Idaho on Thursday. Coral Gillette and Janie McRae have played in 13 and 12 games, respectively.
BOZEMAN DOWNTOWN ASSOC.: MSU is shooting 36.6 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 10.1 makes per game, which is fifth in the nation. Against Southern Utah on Dec. 28, MSU set a school-record with 18 three-pointers, including nine triples in the opening quarter. As a team, MSU has recorded at least one three-pointer in the last 159 consecutive games. The last time the Bobcats were held without a trey was Jan. 24, 2013 (0-9) at Weber State. Last Thursday night against Idaho the Bobcats established a school-record as its 14 three-pointers gave them 248 triples on the season to surpass last year's record of 245 3-pointers. MSU's current total on the season is 262 three-point makes.
STINGY D: The Bobcat defense evolved into one of the best units in the Big Sky last winter leading the league in four statistical categories. This season has been no different. The Cats are currently first in 3-point FG percentage defense (29.4), and fourth overall in blocks per game (3.6), blocks (94), scoring defense (64.8) and rebounds (981). So far this season, the Bobcats have held five teams to 50 points or less - Providence (31), No. Arizona (39), Wyoming (46), MSU Billings (47) and Sacramento State (50).
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: The Cats are fifth in the nation averaging 10.1 3-point FGs per game; sixth in the country in 3-point makes with 262; tenth in the nation in 3-point attempts at 716; and 36th overall in 3-point FG% at 36.6. MSU also leads the league in assists (407) and assists per game (15.7).
