Cats Fall by Five at Fall Feast

Friday, November 25

Denton, TX

4 p.m. (MT)

Montana State University

4-2,0-0Big Sky

Abilene Christian

3-2,0-0WAC

Abilene Christian

Montana St.

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

11/25/2022 7:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Montana State overcame a late four-point deficit but couldn’t hold off Abilene Christian in the waning moments as the Wildcats closed out the contest in the final 31-seconds on a 6-0 run to post a 66-61 victory over the Bobcats at the North Texas Fall Feast on Friday afternoon at The Super Pit.

By: MSU Sports Information

Montana State overcame a late four-point deficit but couldn't hold off Abilene Christian in the waning moments as the Wildcats closed out the contest in the final 31-seconds on a 6-0 run to post a 66-61 victory over the Bobcats at the North Texas Fall Feast on Friday afternoon at The Super Pit.

In a back-and-forth game, Abilene Christian (3-2) took a 60-56 lead with 2:07 remaining in the fourth quarter on a basket by Maleeah Langstaff. Montana State (4-2) responded with a 5-0 run capped by two Darian White free throws giving the Bobcats a 61-60 advantage with 39-seconds left. It would be the last time MSU scored as ACU got a three-pointer from Madi Miller with 31-seconds remaining to take the lead for good. The fourth quarter saw four ties and four lead changes.

"Defensively, it seemed we were struggling from the tip," said 18^th-year head coach Tricia Binford. "It felt like we were on skates all night. Abilene Christian does a nice job of penetrating to the basket, and we were super flat, which is not our identity."

ACU led by two after the opening 10-minutes and held a 35-31 margin at halftime. MSU closed the lead to 49-47 heading into the final frame. MSU struggled from the field in the fourth quarter, shooting 18.8% and going one-of-eight from long distance, while the Wildcats hit at a 46.2% clip.

White paced MSU with 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Leia Beattie chipped in 16 points, including three triples. The Bobcats were also helped under the boards by Taylor Janssen with six. Montana State played without the services of all-conference performer Kola Bad Bear, who was sidelined with an injury and is listed as day-to-day,

"We got some stops and had some opportunities," Binford said. "We were searching for someone to come in and give us a spark. We will learn and grow. We need to rebound quickly for Sunday."

Miller led ACU with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bobcats face North Texas on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (MT).