Montana State University
BYU
Montana State Women Upset Brigham Young in Provo
12/30/2010 6:10:55 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State women’s basketball squad used a stifling defense and converted its free throws down the stretch to post a 58-49 upset of Brigham Young, Thursday afternoon in the Marriott Center.
The Montana State women's basketball squad used a stifling defense and converted its free throws down the stretch to post a 58-49 upset of Brigham Young, Thursday afternoon in the Marriott Center.
The win was MSU's first over BYU since Dec. 7, 1996 when the Bobcats defeated the Cougars on its home court 77-65. The victory also snapped a six-game losing streak to Brigham Young.
“This was the first time we've finished a tight game this season,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford.
Montana State (5-8) held a 24-22 advantage at halftime after rallying from a six-point deficit at the 5:28 mark with an 8-0 run.
Brigham Young (8-5) opened the second half scoring 11 unanswered points as Montana State went scoreless for the first 7-minutes, 16-seconds of the half.
Following a MSU timeout, the Bobcats responded with an 11-1 run of its own to take a 35-34 lead following a pair of Ausha Cole free throws at the 8:19 mark.
“BYU was out-working us on the glass and we couldn't convert on the offensive end,” Binford said. “We had a lot of passive looks and we laid into them at the timeout. They responded amazingly well.”
The lead changed hands four times before another Cole free throw put MSU up for good with 6:28 remaining. The Bobcats converted 15-of-18 free throw attempts in the final 4:58 to secure the upset.
MSU upped its current season-best winning streak to three games shooting just 31 percent from the field. The Bobcats, however, connected on 24-34 charity tosses.
BYU also shot 31 percent, but got to the line just six times.
The Cougars held a 27-18 advantage in rebounding at intermission, but the Bobcats answered out-boarding BYU 29-16 in the second stanza.
Montana State had three players in double-figures led by Sarah Balian with a game-high 16 points. Also in double-digits were Katie Bussey 11 and Rachel Semansky 10.
Balian recorded her second double-double of the season adding a game-high 13 rebounds.
“This is exactly where we need to be as we look to open Big Sky play next week,” Binford said. “I really liked the character we showed against Brigham Young.”
The Cougars were led in the loss by Coriann Fraughton with 11 points and six rebounds.
MSU will play at Utah Valley on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m.
