Senioritis: Montana State Women Clinch Postseason Berth on Senior Night

Monday, March 4

Bozeman, MT

7 p.m.

Montana State University

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SOUTHERN UTAH

7-1113-15/ BSC

Team	1	2	F
Southern Utah	29	19	48
Montana State	31	25	56

Latisha Adams posted 13 points, three rebounds and two assists in MSU's Senior Night win over Southern Utah.

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

Senioritis: Montana State Women Clinch Postseason Berth on Senior Night

3/4/2013 10:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Montana State seniors Latisha Adams and Rachel Semansky made the most of their last appearance in Worthington Arena.

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State seniors Latisha Adams and Rachel Semansky made the most of their last appearance in Worthington Arena.

Adams notched 13 points, including Montana State's first six of the game, while Semansky pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to guide the Bobcats to a 56-48 win over Southern Utah, Monday night to clinch a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament next week.

Montana State (16-11, 10-8) had two leads of nine points in the opening period, the last coming at the 5:14 mark on a pair of Kalli
Durham free throws to give the Bobcats a 26-17 advantage.

Southern Utah (13-15, 7-11) rattled off a 12-5 run to close out half as Montana State held a 31-29 advantage at intermission.

“We didn't play well in the first half,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “We didn't show a lot of confidence in what we were running, both offensively and defensively. Everyone on the team knows what they bring to the table, and they need to come in confident and not second-guess themselves.”

MSU shot 21 percent from the field in the second half, but was able to connect on 11-of-14 from the free throw line. For the game, the Bobcats converted 18-of-22 charity tosses, including a 10-of-10 effort from Durham.

The Thunderbirds tied the score twice in the second stanza, the last coming with 14:45 remaining. An Ashley Brumwell jumper, followed by a Rechel Carter three-pointer lifted MSU's margin back to five points.

SUU chipped MSU's lead to one-point at the 12:01 mark, but again, the Bobcats responded with six unanswered points on another Carter triple and three free throws via Lindsay Stockton. Montana State connected on five of six free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win.

Durham paced all scorers with a game-high 17 points. She also hauled down ten rebounds for her first career double-double. Carter, a junior college transfer from California, matched a career-high with nine points, all coming from beyond the arc.

Under the glass, the Bobcats held a 46-38 rebounding advantage, including a whopping 18 offensive boards against the league's best rebounding unit.

“It was huge for us to win the battle of the boards,” Binford said. “Southern Utah is an outstanding rebounding team. And, with neither team shooting lights-out, that was an area we needed to win.”

SUU was paced in the loss by Andrea Jones with 15 points.

Montana State will close out its regular-season slate next Thursday and Saturday at Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, respectively.