Montana State University
Northern Colorado
Montana State Women Rally from First Half Deficit to Post Victory
1/8/2011 10:19:32 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State senior Sarah Balian notched a career-high 24 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds to help the Bobcats rally from a 13-point first half deficit and notch an 84-75 victory over Northern Colorado, Saturday night in Worthington Arena.
Montana State senior Sarah Balian notched a career-high 24 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds to help the Bobcats rally from a 13-point first half deficit and notch an 84-75 victory over Northern Colorado, Saturday night in Worthington Arena.
Montana State (8-8, 2-0) jumped out to an early 12-4 advantage, but Northern Colorado (6-9, 1-1) clawed back with a 29-8 run to take a 33-20 lead at the 6:12 mark.
The Bobcats finished the final six minutes with an 18-4 run to notch a 38-37 cushion at intermission. The MSU stretch was sparked by Katie Bussey's eight points.
“The first game after a major loss is always the toughest,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford, referring to the loss of freshman post player Chelsea Banis to a season-ending knee injury on Thursday. “We were blue collar and gritty, and I'm proud of the way we battled.”
Montana State built its largest lead of the game with 6:20 remaining as a Balian free throw pushed the margin to 69-55.
Northern Colorado cut the lead to five points with 2:09 left, but would get no closer.
For the game, Balian connected on nine-of-17 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Also in double-figures for MSU were Bussey 20, Ausha Cole 13 and Rachel Semansky 10.
Cole, a true-freshman, played 24 minutes at the point-guard spot and converted seven-of-eight free throws attempts. She also chipped in two triples, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Semansky, a native of Highwood, fouled out with 3:32 remaining, but had an outstanding defensive effort posting six rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.
MSU shot 47 percent from the field and connected on 11-of-20 three-point attempts against the league's top defensive unit from beyond the arc.
“We feel good about opening with a 2-0 mark in Big Sky play,” Binford said. “However, it's a long season and this was the first step.”
Northern Colorado was led in the loss by Lauren Oosdyke with 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Bobcats will travel to Northern Arizona on Saturday.
