Senior Katie Bussey
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Women Host Bengals Thursday Night
1/4/2012 4:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State women’s basketball team will play its Big Sky Conference home opener on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:05 p.m., in Worthington Arena when it hosts Idaho State. The game against the Bengals will tipoff a three-game home stand for the Bobcats, which will also include contests against Weber State and Northern Arizona.
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BIG SKY HOME OPENER:
The Montana State women's basketball team will play its Big Sky Conference home opener on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:05 p.m., in Worthington Arena when it hosts Idaho State. The game against the Bengals will tipoff a three-game home stand for the Bobcats, which will also include contests against Weber State and Northern Arizona.
PILOT OF THE AIRWAVES:
All Montana State women's basketball games - exhibition through postseason - will be carried live on KZMY My 103.5 FM. Tyler Wiltgen is in his fifth year calling the action. Wiltgen's pregame show begins 20-minutes prior to tip off.
FOR YOUR LISTENING/VIEWING PLEASURE:
Montana State women's basketball home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen via free video streaming at www.b2tv.com. In addition, games can be heard on the web by clicking the Bobcat Sports Radio Network button at www.msubobcats.com. Live stats are also available for home games at www.msubobcats.com or at each opponent's website in the case of away games.
CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats split its opening series of Big Sky Conference action on the road last weekend in the Pacific Northwest. MSU fell in its opener to Eastern Washington (79-73) after committing a season-high 28 turnovers. Ashley Albert and Katie Bussey led MSU with 17 points, each, while Chelsea Banis poured in 14 points and hauled down a game-high nine rebounds. On Saturday afternoon, the Bobcats quickly rebounded from its loss at EWU with a high-octane performance against preseason favorite Portland State. MSU downed the Vikings 95-83 as four Bobcats hit double-figures. The Montana State attack was led by Bussey with 26 points, including six 3-pointers to match a career-best. In addition, the senior from Alamosa, Colorado tallied a career-high eight assists and helped account for almost half of MSU's total points. Also in double-digits were Banis and Rachel Semansky with 19 points, while Albert chipped in 15. Semansky had her fourth double-double of the season with 14 boards.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
* Chelsea Banis, 6-4, Sophomore, Center, Fairfield, Montana
Banis averaged 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds last weekend, while shooting 70 percent (14-21) from the field...posted a season-best 19 points in MSU's win at Portland State...weekend-high nine rebounds at Eastern Washington...has five double-figure scoring games and one double-double (10/10) vs. North Dakota.
* Ausha Cole, 5-6, Sophomore, Guard, Mesa, Arizona
Cole came off the bench to give the Bobcats a spark last weekend...averaged 8.5 points and 2.0 assists, while shooting 50 percent from the field...connected on three-of-five from beyond the arc...had a weekend-high nine points and three assists at Eastern Washington...is averaging 20.4 minutes per game.
TIME TO GET BUSSEY:
Katie Bussey has established herself as Montana State's all-time three-point makes queen. Bussey continues to add on to her school record, which currently stands at 217 treys. The mark ranks fourth on the all-time Big Sky chart. The league mark of 238 is held by Chelsey Warburton (Weber State, 2004-07). Bussey will have a good shot at breaking the conference mark as she will need to average 1.6 makes per game. She is currently averaging 2.5 makes per contest. A two-time All Big Sky performer and the 2008-09 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, she is also moving up the MSU all-time scoring ladder. Her current total of 1,437 points ranks 5th overall at Montana State. Last season, she posted 24 double-figure scoring games. Her career-high of 30 points was set against Pacific, Nov, 15, 2009. Last weekend, the native of Alamosa, Colo., averaged 21.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 3-pointers. Bussey recorded a career-high eight assists in MSU's win at Portland State. On the year, she has been in double-figures 12 times.
THE PRIDE OF HIGHWOOD:
Junior Rachel Semansky, a first-team All Big Sky selection last winter, continued her stellar play at Portland State last Saturday. Against the Vikings, she notched her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Semansky leads MSU and the Big Sky Conference in field-percentage hitting at a .578 clip (.733 in BSC games). She has led Montana State in rebounding in eight games this season. The 6-foot forward is third in the Big Sky Conference averaging 8.2 rebounds per game. Semansky recorded a career-high 30 points against the College of Idaho on Nov. 20. The pride of Highwood hauled down a career-best 14 rebounds at PSU last weekend.
CHELSEA, LATELY:
Sophomore Chelsea Banis, who returned to the Bobcat roster this season after missing 15 Big Sky Conference games last winter due to a torn MCL, has worked herself back into MSU's starting rotation. The native of Fairfield put together her best back-to-back performance on the year last weekend, averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 67 percent from the floor. Last winter, Banis established herself as one of the top freshman in the Big Sky averaging 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 55 percent. Banis recorded a career-high 28 points at Utah Valley on Jan. 1, 2011.
DOUBLE A:
Sophomore Ashley Albert, a 6-foot-1 forward from Hamilton, Mont., returned to the Montana State lineup after missing all of the 2010-11 season with a torn ACL. As a freshman, Albert averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 42 percent. This season, Albert has been a steady performer for the Bobcats and is currently chipping in 13.2 points and 7.1 rebounds from her small forward spot. Last weekend, she averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds. She had her best game of the week with 17 points and eight rebounds at Eastern Washington. In the two games, she also connected on five-of-11 from long distance. Earlier this season, she posted a career-high 20 points against Big-10 foe Wisconsin. In the season-opener at Portland, Albert recorded a career-high 11 rebounds. Overall, she has registered 11 games in double-figure scoring.
SWISHA:
Junior Latisha Adams has transitioned into the starting point-guard role, which gives the Bobcats added size at the spot. Last season, the 5-foot-9 native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, averaged 2.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Adams recorded a career-high 11 points at Weber State on Jan. 17, 2011. In addition, she pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against Sacramento State and dished out a season-high six assists against the Hornets, as well. Last week, Adams notched six points and four assists in MSU's win at Portland State. She is averaging 3.0 ppg.
AUSHA BY-GOSHA:
In her second season, Ausha Cole, a 5-foot-6 point guard, is currently second in assist/turnover ratio at +2.0 in Big Sky play. Cole is also ranked sixth in assists and ninth in steals. Last weekend, Cole provided a spark off the bench averaging 8.5 points and 2.5 assists, while shooting 50 percent from the field. Earlier this season, the Mesa, Arizona, native dished out a career-high 11 assists against the College of Idaho. As a freshman, Cole played in 27 games, including 21 starts. She received her first start against CS Bakersfield playing 29 minutes and dishing out seven assists. Montana State went 15-6 overall with Cole at the starting point-guard spot. Cole has notched a career-best 13 points on two occasions.
PHONE HOME:
Jackie Elliott, a true freshman from Billings, made two starts (UMW/CI) for the Bobcats with Chelsea Banis out of the line-up. Last weekend, she was held scoreless for the third straight game, but pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists. For the season, Elliott is averaging 3.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. The graduate of Billing Central notched a season-best 14 points against UM-Western and pulled down a season-best nine rebounds in MSU's win over Utah State. She is averaging 16.8 minutes per contest.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Kalli Durham and the Bobcats have a long and storied family history on the Bozeman campus. Durham's grandfather (Lin), uncle (Mick) and cousin (Casey) played for the Montana State men's team. Uncle Mick served as the men's head coach at MSU for 16 years and is the current head coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Father Mark is the current athletic director and former head men's coach at UM-Western. Durham had her best game last weekend at Eastern Washington, notching six points on a pair of 3-pointers. The Miles City native is 5th in the Big Sky shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc. Durham recorded a season-high 19 points, including four triples in MSU's win over the College of Idaho.
ALLONS-Y CHATTE:
Destini French, a 6-foot-2 freshman center from Playa del Rey, Calif., is logging some playing time for the Bobcats after tearing her ACL and MCL her senior season at St. Bernard. French played sparingly in both games last weekend. At Eastern Washington, she notched one rebound in two minutes of action. French registered a career-high six points and hauled down four rebounds against the College of Idaho on Nov. 20, 2011.
SYMONE SAYS:
Symone Brown did not play last weekend. She saw her first action of the season against the College of Idaho and logged seven minutes. She pulled down two rebounds in the contest. Brown, a 5-9 guard who prepped at Richard Gahr High School, averaged 20.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a senior. As a senior, Brown was selected to the CIF Division 3AA First-Team, as well as the San Gabriel Valley League First-Team; Long Beach Press Telegram Dream Team; and the Cerritos Community News First-Team.
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Jan. 2, 2012):
Katie Bussey
5-9, Guard, Senior
Alamosa, Colorado
Bussey averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals as the Bobcats went 1-1 on the road to open its Big Sky season. In its win at preseason league favorite Portland State, Bussey paced MSU with a team-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers- matching her career-high. In addition, she dished out a career-high 8 assists and added four steals and three rebounds. In MSU's game at Eastern Washington, Bussey notched 17 points, four assists and three rebounds. For the weekend, she shot 44 percent from the field, 44 percent from beyond the arc and 83 percent from the line. Bussey now has 217 career three-pointers, moving her into to 4th on the all-time Big Sky Conference chart. She also has notched 1,437 career points, which moves her into fifth on MSU's all-time scoring list.
WELCOME BACK, ELMO:
Bobcat sophomore forward Emily Allen rejoined the team after sitting out the first semester for personal reasons. The native of Gold Coast, Australia made her presence felt in MSU's win over North Dakota in Worthington Arena. Against UND she registered a career-high 11 rebounds, to go along with eight points. Last weekend, Allen had her best outing against Eastern Washington with five points, two rebounds, a steal and an assist in 13 minutes of action.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM:
The Bobcats are ranked just outside the collegeinsider.com's Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll with 10 points. The No. 1 Mid-Major spot belongs to Wisconsin-Green Bay with 774 points. Portland State is the only other league school receiving points.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM:
The Bobcats rank among the league's top five in all but four of the Big Sky Conference's 21 statistical categories. MSU is ranked first in scoring margin (+7.5), field-goal percentage (.438) and assist/turnover ratio (+1.0).
POWER OUTAGE:
MSU's only hiccup so far this season seems to be in its games against the 'so-called' power conferences. MSU finished 2-4 with wins over Colorado State (Mountain West) and Utah State (WAC) and losses to Oregon State (Pac-12), Wisconsin (Big 10), Illinois (Big 10) and #13 Georgia (SEC).
TOSSING THE ROCK:
Rachel Semansky is ranked 13th in the nation in field-goal percentage hitting at a 57.8 percent clip- tops in the Big Sky.
Wednesday, January 26
Saturday, December 18
Thursday, November 04
Tuesday, November 02
