Thursday, January 1
Grand Forks, ND
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
University of North Dakota
Montana State junior guard Lindsay Stockton
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Women to Ring in New Year in North Dakota
12/31/2014 3:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The MSU women's basketball will ring in the New Year and open its 2015 Big Sky season at North Dakota on Thursday.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE OPENER:
The Montana State women's basketball team will open its 2015 Big Sky Conference season at the University of North Dakota, Thursday, Jan. 1 at 6 p.m. (MST) in Grand Forks at the Betty Englestad Sioux Center. The Bobcats will conclude weekend play at the University of Northern Colorado, Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. in Greeley at the Bank of Colorado Arena. In Big Sky Conference action, since the league's inception for women's athletics in 1988-89, Montana State is 13-13 in league openers, but has gone 2-8 over the last decade. MSU's two Big Sky season-opening victories in the last 10 years came in 2010 (Weber State) and 2011 (Sacramento State). MSU and UND have never met in a Big Sky Conference opener.
THIS WEEK'S VITALS:
Montana State is 6-5 overall after dropping its final non-conference game at Washington State, 82-16, on Dec. 20 in Pullman. The Bobcats are 4-1 in its last five games. North Dakota, the Big Sky's preseason pick in both the coaches and media polls, lived up to the prediction going a league best 8-4 in non-conference play. The defending Big Sky Conference champs are 2-3 in its last five games. Northern Colorado, who opens with Montana on Thursday night, is 6-5 overall, including a 1-4 ledger in its last five contests. The Bears have dropped three straight games, after opening its non-conference slate 4-0.
REWINDING THE NON-CONFERENCE:
Montana State finished its non-conference schedule with a 6-5 record. The Bobcats played a challenging schedule as its 11 opponents are currently 84-48 overall with a .636 winning percentage. MSU dropped two of its 11 games to then #24 Gonzaga and Washington State, who was receiving Top 25 votes in both the AP and USA Today rankings. Montana State's most notable victory was a 79-52 win over Wyoming, and just two days after the Cowgirls defeated Big Sky rival Montana in Missoula. The Bobcats went 4-1 inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, 1-4 away from Bozeman and 1-0 at neutral sites. Individually, junior Jasmine Hommes has led Montana State averaging 19.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Lynden, Washington product has led the Bobcats in scoring in all 11 games and has had seven games scoring 20 or more points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Defending Big Sky champions North Dakota completed its 2014-15 non-conference with an 8-4 overall mark. Last season, UND posted a 22-10 overall slate and a 15-5 Big Sky mark, en route to both regular-season and tournament titles. North Dakota made its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, falling to Texas A&M in the first-round. Montana State was the only Big Sky Conference team to sweep North Dakota during the 2013-14 campaign. The Bobcats upended UND 76-65 in Grand Forks and 78-67 in Bozeman. This season, UND has been led by the trio of Mia Loyd, Makailah Dyer and Emily Evers. Loyd and Evers are both averaging double-doubles. Loyd is averaging 17.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, while Evers is throwing in 11.5 points and hauling down 10.3 boards per game. Dyer is averaging 12.8 points and guides North Dakota with a team-best 16 3-pointers. Entering Thursday's game, UND and MSU are the top two shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference. North Dakota is hitting at a .455 clip, while Montana State is at .434. UND leads the Big Sky in scoring margin, field-goal percentage, three-point field-goal percentage, rebounding defense, rebounding margin and assists.
CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats rank among the top three in the Big Sky in field-goal percentage (2nd/.434) and assists per game (3rd/16.4) ...MSU is ranked 40th in the nation averaging 16.4 assists per game...the Bobcats are listed 50th in the country shooting 43.4 percent from the floor...Montana State is ranked 70th overall in assists/turnover ratio at +0.99...the Bobcats are listed 101st in scoring (70.0 ppg)...individually, Jasmine Hommes is ranked 31st in the nation averaging 19.6 points per game...she is also 45th in field-goal percentage at 53.5 and 127th in blocked shots at 1.45 swats per contest...Lindsay Stockton is also nationally ranked. She is 64th overall in assist/turnover ratio at +2.04 and 65th in assists per game dishing out 4.6 per contest...in the most current RPI, Montana State is 132 in the country ...two Big Sky teams are ranked in the top 100 - North Dakota 94 and Idaho 99.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK:
Like her dad, NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, Lindsay Stockton has done an outstanding job distributing and taking care of the basketball in eleven games to date. Stockton is first on the team and third in the Big Sky averaging 4.6 assists per game. Her career-high eight assists are the second best recorded in the Big Sky this season. She has also posted 11 straight games without a negative assist/turnover ratio.
KICKIN' IT:
Jackie Elliott has started all eleven games for the Bobcats and is averaging 7.1 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. The Billings Central grad recorded a season-high 19 points in MSU's win over Great Falls, connecting on 7-of-11 from the field. Not too shabby for the 2011 Montana High School Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year. Currently serving as President of MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Elliott is heavily involved in community service and can be seen on TV in numerous Public Service Announcements. She is a mechanical engineering major.
BLEEDING BLUE AND GOLD:
Senior and Miles City product Kalli Durham has strong family ties to Montana State. Durham's grandfather Lin (who recently passed away), Uncle Mick and Cousin Casey all played for the Bobcat men's team. The daughter of former UM-Western Athletic Director and men's basketball coach Mark Durham, she has recorded 44 career double-figure scoring games in four seasons. Durham's 119 career 3-pointers are 6th best all-time at MSU.
FATHER'S DAY:
Lindsay Stockton is the daughter of legendary NBA Hall of Famer and former Utah Jazz standout John Stockton, while Alexa Dawkins' father Dale played football on the University of Miami's 1987 National Championship team. Dawkins later went on to play wide receiver for the New York Jets from 1990-93.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes matched a career-high with 24 points at against Wyoming on Dec. 6. The Lynden Christian product has recorded seven 20+ scoring games in eleven outings this season. She leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 19.6 per game, which is good for second in the league behind Idaho's Stacey Barr at 22.5 ppg. The 2013-14 Second-Team All-Big Sky honoree started all 30 games, last year. Hommes also has strong ties to the MSU women's basketball. She is the niece of former MSU and Big Sky MVP Blythe Hommes and former MSU and All-Big Sky performer Brooke Svendsen. Hommes' aunts made a combined 130 starts for MSU.
BABY TALK:
After taking off the 2012-13 season on maternity leave, Ausha Cole returned to the Bobcat line-up last winter and averaged 6.0 points and 4.3 assists per game- starting and playing in all 30 contests. At Washington State on Dec. 20, Cole pulled down three rebounds in seven minutes of action. Cole's biggest fan and daughter, Kadence, celebrated her 2nd birthday on Nov. 19.
THE LILAC CITY:
The Bobcats have three players representing Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier returned to their home turf on Dec. 20 at Washington State and combined for 17 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three triples. Junkermier, a graduate of Mead High School, has connected on 14-of-35 from beyond the 3-point arc shooting 40 percent, while Caudill is averaging 8.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in her first 11 games. Stockton and Caudill played together at Gonzaga Prep.
BOZEMAN INK:
Annika Lai, a 6-1 guard from Boulder, Colorado signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Montana State women's basketball program next season. Lai, who preps at Fairview High School, averaged 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals per game as a junior, guiding her squad to the second-round of the Colorado 5A state tournament. For efforts, she garnered First-Team All-Conference accolades. At Fairview, Lai is a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. In addition, she also earned First-Team All-State Academic kudos. Lai played summer ball with BC Denver and earned US Junior National Battle of the Border All-Star honors, as well as High Five (CA) Classic All-Tournament mention. Lai comes from a strong basketball pedigree as mother, the former Amy Mathern, was a member of Colorado's 1993 Elite Eight team that knocked-off defending national champion Stanford at the NCAA West Regionals in Missoula. Mathern started 112 games for the Buffaloes.
The Montana State women's basketball team will open its 2015 Big Sky Conference season at the University of North Dakota, Thursday, Jan. 1 at 6 p.m. (MST) in Grand Forks at the Betty Englestad Sioux Center. The Bobcats will conclude weekend play at the University of Northern Colorado, Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. in Greeley at the Bank of Colorado Arena. In Big Sky Conference action, since the league's inception for women's athletics in 1988-89, Montana State is 13-13 in league openers, but has gone 2-8 over the last decade. MSU's two Big Sky season-opening victories in the last 10 years came in 2010 (Weber State) and 2011 (Sacramento State). MSU and UND have never met in a Big Sky Conference opener.
THIS WEEK'S VITALS:
Montana State is 6-5 overall after dropping its final non-conference game at Washington State, 82-16, on Dec. 20 in Pullman. The Bobcats are 4-1 in its last five games. North Dakota, the Big Sky's preseason pick in both the coaches and media polls, lived up to the prediction going a league best 8-4 in non-conference play. The defending Big Sky Conference champs are 2-3 in its last five games. Northern Colorado, who opens with Montana on Thursday night, is 6-5 overall, including a 1-4 ledger in its last five contests. The Bears have dropped three straight games, after opening its non-conference slate 4-0.
REWINDING THE NON-CONFERENCE:
Montana State finished its non-conference schedule with a 6-5 record. The Bobcats played a challenging schedule as its 11 opponents are currently 84-48 overall with a .636 winning percentage. MSU dropped two of its 11 games to then #24 Gonzaga and Washington State, who was receiving Top 25 votes in both the AP and USA Today rankings. Montana State's most notable victory was a 79-52 win over Wyoming, and just two days after the Cowgirls defeated Big Sky rival Montana in Missoula. The Bobcats went 4-1 inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, 1-4 away from Bozeman and 1-0 at neutral sites. Individually, junior Jasmine Hommes has led Montana State averaging 19.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Lynden, Washington product has led the Bobcats in scoring in all 11 games and has had seven games scoring 20 or more points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Defending Big Sky champions North Dakota completed its 2014-15 non-conference with an 8-4 overall mark. Last season, UND posted a 22-10 overall slate and a 15-5 Big Sky mark, en route to both regular-season and tournament titles. North Dakota made its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, falling to Texas A&M in the first-round. Montana State was the only Big Sky Conference team to sweep North Dakota during the 2013-14 campaign. The Bobcats upended UND 76-65 in Grand Forks and 78-67 in Bozeman. This season, UND has been led by the trio of Mia Loyd, Makailah Dyer and Emily Evers. Loyd and Evers are both averaging double-doubles. Loyd is averaging 17.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, while Evers is throwing in 11.5 points and hauling down 10.3 boards per game. Dyer is averaging 12.8 points and guides North Dakota with a team-best 16 3-pointers. Entering Thursday's game, UND and MSU are the top two shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference. North Dakota is hitting at a .455 clip, while Montana State is at .434. UND leads the Big Sky in scoring margin, field-goal percentage, three-point field-goal percentage, rebounding defense, rebounding margin and assists.
CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats rank among the top three in the Big Sky in field-goal percentage (2nd/.434) and assists per game (3rd/16.4) ...MSU is ranked 40th in the nation averaging 16.4 assists per game...the Bobcats are listed 50th in the country shooting 43.4 percent from the floor...Montana State is ranked 70th overall in assists/turnover ratio at +0.99...the Bobcats are listed 101st in scoring (70.0 ppg)...individually, Jasmine Hommes is ranked 31st in the nation averaging 19.6 points per game...she is also 45th in field-goal percentage at 53.5 and 127th in blocked shots at 1.45 swats per contest...Lindsay Stockton is also nationally ranked. She is 64th overall in assist/turnover ratio at +2.04 and 65th in assists per game dishing out 4.6 per contest...in the most current RPI, Montana State is 132 in the country ...two Big Sky teams are ranked in the top 100 - North Dakota 94 and Idaho 99.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK:
Like her dad, NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, Lindsay Stockton has done an outstanding job distributing and taking care of the basketball in eleven games to date. Stockton is first on the team and third in the Big Sky averaging 4.6 assists per game. Her career-high eight assists are the second best recorded in the Big Sky this season. She has also posted 11 straight games without a negative assist/turnover ratio.
KICKIN' IT:
Jackie Elliott has started all eleven games for the Bobcats and is averaging 7.1 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. The Billings Central grad recorded a season-high 19 points in MSU's win over Great Falls, connecting on 7-of-11 from the field. Not too shabby for the 2011 Montana High School Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year. Currently serving as President of MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Elliott is heavily involved in community service and can be seen on TV in numerous Public Service Announcements. She is a mechanical engineering major.
BLEEDING BLUE AND GOLD:
Senior and Miles City product Kalli Durham has strong family ties to Montana State. Durham's grandfather Lin (who recently passed away), Uncle Mick and Cousin Casey all played for the Bobcat men's team. The daughter of former UM-Western Athletic Director and men's basketball coach Mark Durham, she has recorded 44 career double-figure scoring games in four seasons. Durham's 119 career 3-pointers are 6th best all-time at MSU.
FATHER'S DAY:
Lindsay Stockton is the daughter of legendary NBA Hall of Famer and former Utah Jazz standout John Stockton, while Alexa Dawkins' father Dale played football on the University of Miami's 1987 National Championship team. Dawkins later went on to play wide receiver for the New York Jets from 1990-93.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes matched a career-high with 24 points at against Wyoming on Dec. 6. The Lynden Christian product has recorded seven 20+ scoring games in eleven outings this season. She leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 19.6 per game, which is good for second in the league behind Idaho's Stacey Barr at 22.5 ppg. The 2013-14 Second-Team All-Big Sky honoree started all 30 games, last year. Hommes also has strong ties to the MSU women's basketball. She is the niece of former MSU and Big Sky MVP Blythe Hommes and former MSU and All-Big Sky performer Brooke Svendsen. Hommes' aunts made a combined 130 starts for MSU.
BABY TALK:
After taking off the 2012-13 season on maternity leave, Ausha Cole returned to the Bobcat line-up last winter and averaged 6.0 points and 4.3 assists per game- starting and playing in all 30 contests. At Washington State on Dec. 20, Cole pulled down three rebounds in seven minutes of action. Cole's biggest fan and daughter, Kadence, celebrated her 2nd birthday on Nov. 19.
THE LILAC CITY:
The Bobcats have three players representing Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier returned to their home turf on Dec. 20 at Washington State and combined for 17 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three triples. Junkermier, a graduate of Mead High School, has connected on 14-of-35 from beyond the 3-point arc shooting 40 percent, while Caudill is averaging 8.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in her first 11 games. Stockton and Caudill played together at Gonzaga Prep.
BOZEMAN INK:
Annika Lai, a 6-1 guard from Boulder, Colorado signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Montana State women's basketball program next season. Lai, who preps at Fairview High School, averaged 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals per game as a junior, guiding her squad to the second-round of the Colorado 5A state tournament. For efforts, she garnered First-Team All-Conference accolades. At Fairview, Lai is a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. In addition, she also earned First-Team All-State Academic kudos. Lai played summer ball with BC Denver and earned US Junior National Battle of the Border All-Star honors, as well as High Five (CA) Classic All-Tournament mention. Lai comes from a strong basketball pedigree as mother, the former Amy Mathern, was a member of Colorado's 1993 Elite Eight team that knocked-off defending national champion Stanford at the NCAA West Regionals in Missoula. Mathern started 112 games for the Buffaloes.
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