Thursday, February 16
Flagstaff, AZ
6:35 p.m.
Montana State University
at
NORTHERN ARIZONA
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Women at Northern Arizona, Thursday Night
2/15/2012 10:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State women’s basketball team will play its final three regular-season Big Sky Conference games on the road over the course of a three-week span. The Bobcats will face Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:35 p.m., in the Rolle Activity Center (1,210) in Flagstaff.
MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN ARIZONA GAME NOTES (pdf)
ROAD WARRIORS:
The Montana State women's basketball team will play its final three regular-season Big Sky Conference games on the road over the course of a three-week span. The Bobcats will face Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:35 p.m., in the Rolle Activity Center (1,210) in Flagstaff. The game will be MSU's only contest of the week. The game will air live on NAU-TV, available on Suddenlink Cable channel 4 in Flagstaff, and be joined in progress at 7 p.m. on Fox College Sports Pacific with Mitch Strohman and Sharon Falor on the call. In Big Sky play this season, the Bobcats went 4-4 on its home hardwood; but are a healthy 4-1 away from the friendly confines of Worthington Arena in league play.
WARM UP THE BUS:
Senior Katie Bussey is putting the wraps on a stellar career. Against Sacramento State last Saturday, Bussey tied the Big Sky Conference record for most three-point field goals with 238. The Alamosa, Colorado native needs one trey to hold the league mark by herself. She is currently tied with Weber State's Chelsey Warburton. Bussey also became one of three players in Bobcat history to surpass the 1600-point plateau. She needs 23 points to move into second on MSU's all-time scoring chart. Her current career total of 1,624 points ranks 12th all-time in Big Sky history.
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.
TIME TO GET BUSSEY:
Prior to the season, Katie Bussey had established herself as Montana State's all-time three-point makes (175) queen. Bussey now can lay claim to the Big Sky all-time mark, matching Chelsey Warburton's (Weber State, 2004-07) record of 238 triples against Sacramento State on Saturday. Bussey's next 3-pointer will give her the Big Sky's all-time career record. A two-time All Big Sky performer and the 2008-09 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, she is also moving up MSU's all-time scoring ladder. Her current total of 1,624 points ranks 3rd overall at Montana State. She became just the third member of MSU's prestigious 1,600-point club and trails only Kathleen McLaughlin Howard (1,761) and Vicki Heebner Carle (1,646). Last weekend, the native of Alamosa, Colo., paced Montana State in its win over Northern Colorado with 23 points, including three 3-pointers. Bussey also dished out four assists and had four steals in the win over the Bears. Bussey had a school-record and Big Sky matching 41 points at Idaho State on Feb. 2.
THE PRIDE OF HIGHWOOD:
Junior Rachel Semansky, a first-team All Big Sky selection last winter, continued her strong 2011-12 campaign last weekend, averaging 16 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 65 percent from the field. Semansky has led MSU in rebounding in 14 contests and has recorded ten double-digit rebounding games. She ranks 11th on MSU's all-time rebounding list (636), after pulling down 14 boards to pass up Alaina Bauer (1986-91) last weekend. Semansky leads the team shooting 53 percent and is top in rebounding at 9.0 per outing. The pride of Highwood recorded a career-high 30 points against the College of Idaho and hauled down a career-best 18 rebounds against NAU.
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 played in 23 games this winter with 21 starts. The native of Fairfield averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 54 percent from the field as a freshman. Banis is averaging almost 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds this year. Last weekend, she went scoreless for the first time this season against Northern Colorado. Against Sacramento State, she posted four points, two rebounds and a blocked shot in 13 minutes of action.
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 12 points and 7.2 rebounds from her forward spot. Last weekend, she averaged 13.5 points and six rebounds. Since moving to the four spot, Albert has averaged 15.3 points and 7.7 boards per contest. Albert's 11 boards versus Montana two weeks ago matched a career-high. Earlier this season, she posted a career-high 20 points against Big-10 foe Wisconsin. Overall, she has registered 17-of-25 games in double-figure scoring games. Albert is also second on the Bobcat squad with 37 three-pointers.
SWISHA:
Junior Latisha Adams has transitioned into a point-guard role this season, 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 and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds at Sacramento State. Last weekend, Adams was quiet, recording just two points in two games. On the plus side, she pulled down seven rebounds against Sacramento State, while adding and two assists and steal.
AUSHA BY-GOSHA:
In her second season, Ausha Cole is currently second in assist/turnover ratio at +1.7 in Big Sky play. She is also ranked seventh in assists and ninth in steals. Cole received the starting nod at the point spot in both games last week and averaged 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. She had a weekend high nine points against Northern Colorado. Earlier this season, Cole dished out a career-high 11 assists against the College of Idaho. She has notched 16 games with a positive assist/turnover ratio. As a frosh, Cole received her first start against CS Bakersfield playing 29 minutes and dishing out seven assists. MSU went 15-6 overall with Cole as the starting point-guard in 10-11.
PHONE HOME:
Jackie Elliott, a true freshman from Billings, has made four starts, including both games last weekend for the Bobcats. The Billings Central grad had her best outing last weekend with four points and eight rebounds against Sacramento State. In the last three games, she has pulled down 5.3 rebounds per contest. For the season, Elliott is averaging 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds. Elliott had a season-best 14 points against UM-Western and a season-high nine rebounds in MSU's win over Utah State. She is averaging 15 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. Last Saturday, she came off the bench to post eight points against Sacramento State, while pulling down four rebounds. She finished the game connecting on 3-6 from the floor. Durham recorded a season-high 19 points, including a season-best four three-pointers against 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/MCL her senior season at St. Bernard. French saw eight minutes of action last week, including five in MSU's win over Northern Colorado. She had one rebound against Sacramento State. 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
Katie Bussey
G, 5-9 Senior
Alamosa, Colorado
Bussey had a solid week for the Bobcats averaging 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State. In Montana State's win over Northern Colorado, Bussey posted a game-high 23 points, including 14 points in the second half. She also notched four assists, four steals and two rebounds. In MSU's buzzer-beating loss to Sacramento State on Saturday, she tallied 20 points, including a seven-of-eight effort from the free throw line. Her only three-pointer of the game (at 1:47 of the first half) gave Bussey a share of the all-time Big Sky Conference mark of 238 career triples, matching Weber State's Chelsey Warburton. She also became just the third member of Montana State's prestigious 1,600-point club, collecting 43 points in two games.
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 right away in MSU's win over North Dakota in Worthington Arena prior to the Christmas break. Against UND she registered a career-high 11 rebounds, to go along with eight points. Last weekend, Allen averaged 10 minutes per game and had two points and three rebounds vs. Sacramento St. On the season, she is averaging 1.8 points and 2.7 boards per game.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM:
With their 77-76 loss to Sacramento State on Saturday, Montana State dropped out of the 'other receiving votes' category in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Women's Top 25 poll. Idaho State is the only Big Sky team to crack the poll at No. 23. ISU's lone league loss came at the hands of the Bobcats. The No. 1 Mid-Major ranking belongs to Delaware with 760 points, after knocking UW-Green Bay from its hold on the top spot.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM:
The Bobcats rank among the league's top five in 16 of the Big Sky's 21 statistical categories. MSU is ranked first in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.272) and defensive rebounds (29.1).
POWER OUTAGE:
MSU's only hiccup so far this season is 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).
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