Brawl of the Wild Part 1

Saturday, January 17

Missoula, MT

2 p.m.

Montana State University

University of Montana

Senior Jackie Elliott

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

1/16/2015 5:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The women’s version of the Brawl of the Wild will be aired live on ABC Fox Montana (on Fox affiliates) with veteran play-by-play man Chris Byers (Billings - KULR 8) calling the action and Dominic Shelden (Missoula - ABC FOX) adding color commentary.

By: Tom Schulz

BRAWL OF THE WILD:
The Montana State women's basketball team will make the trek up I-90 to Missoula for its annual Brawl of the Wild encounter on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. against Montana. The Lady Griz leads the all-time series over the Bobcats 75-22. UM went 3-0 against MSU last winter, with the third game coming at the Big Sky tournament. The Bobcats have won just six times in 49 games within the confines of Dahlberg Arena. Montana State's last win over Montana, and its last win in Missoula, was a 58-49 decision over the Lady Griz on Jan. 19, 2013.

TUBE TIME:
The women's version of the Brawl of the Wild will be aired live on ABC Fox Montana (on Fox affiliates) with veteran play-by-play man Chris Byers (Billings - KULR 8) calling the action and Dominic Shelden (Missoula - ABC FOX) adding color commentary.

THIS WEEK'S VITALS:
Montana State is 7-8 overall and 1-3 in Big Sky Conference action, after splitting a pair of games last weekend in Worthington Arena. MSU snapped a four-game losing skid with a 62-54 decision over Weber State for its first league victory. Montana is 10-5 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky Conference play. The Lady Griz have won two straight, and eight of its last nine. Its only setback was a 59-52 loss at the University Of North Dakota on Jan. 3 in Grand Forks.

THINGS IN COMMON:
Aside from the Big Sky schedule, the Bobcats and Lady Griz faced two common opponents in non-conference action. Montana State defeated Wyoming 79-52 and Seattle 74-61, while the Lady Griz were defeated by the Cowgirls 60-54 and squeaked past Seattle 70-64 in overtime.

REWINDING THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Jasmine Hommes recorded 20 points and Jackie Elliott pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds to lift the Bobcats to a 62-54 win over Weber State. The win was the 16th straight over the Wildcats. MSU played a near perfect first half and held a 37-23 advantage at intermission. WSU turned the table on the Bobcats with an 11-0 run coming out of halftime. The Wildcats cut the lead down to one, but MSU got a three-point play by Hommes giving them a four-point cushion and a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Idaho State used an old-fashion three-point play with just over five minutes remaining and converted just enough free throw tosses down the stretch to notch a 65-62 win over MSU, Thursday night. For the game, MSU shot 34 percent from the field and connected on just 19-of-36 free throws. Hommes finished with 16 points, while Lindsay Stockton added 14.

TRENDING TOPICS:
Montana State is 5-1 when it out-rebounds its opponents. Last weekend, MSU out-boarded Weber State by +17 and Idaho State by +9...The Bobcats are just 2-7 on the season when scoring between 60-69 points, but are 5-1 when scoring 70 or more points in a game...MSU is 5-1 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent...The Bobcats are 0-6 on the season when trailing at halftime.

THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Montana 10-5 overall, 3-1 Big Sky: The Lady Griz shot a season-best 54.2 percent in their last game, a 77-65 victory over Idaho State. They hadn't shot even 40 percent in their previous seven games. It was only the fourth game in 15 games this season that Montana shot better than 40 percent. Montana has outrebounded its last nine opponents by 70, an average of nearly eight boards per game. Only Utah Valley, at +1, and Northern Colorado, at +2, have outrebounded the Lady Griz in that nine-game stretch. UM is paced by former Bozeman Hawk Kellie (Cole) Rubel, who averages 13.5 points per game. Also averaging double-digits are Kayleigh Valley (10.3 ppg) and McCalle Feller (10.2 ppg).

CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats are ranked third in the Big Sky Conference shooting 43.2 percent from the field. North Dakota leads the league at 45.5 percent...MSU is ranked 51st in the nation averaging 15.7 assists per game; 57th in field-goal percentage; and 90th in assist/turnover ratio at +.94 per contest...Individually, Lindsay Stockton is 47th in the nation averaging 4.9 assists per game...The Gonzaga Prep graduate is also 134th overall in assist/turnover ratio at +1.61...Jasmine Hommes is ranked 50th in the country shooting 52.1 percent from the floor. In addition, she is 51st in scoring at 18.5 points per game; and 181st in blocked shots at 1.27 swats per game...in the most current RPI, Montana State is 194 in the country. In front of the Bobcats in the Big Sky RPI are Eastern Washington 127, North Dakota 136, Sacramento State 159, Montana 162, and Idaho 166.

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 15 games to date. Stockton is third in the Big Sky Conference action averaging 5.8 assists per game. Her career-high ten assists at North Dakota are the highest recorded in the Big Sky play this season. She has also posted 13-of-15 games without a negative assist/turnover ratio.

KICKIN' IT:
Jackie Elliott has started all 15 games for the Bobcats and is averaging 7.3 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. The Billings Central grad pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in MSU's win over Weber State. 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 45 career double-figure scoring games in four seasons. Durham's 121 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 eight 20+ scoring games in 15 outings this season. She leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 18.5 per game, which is good for second in the league behind Idaho's Stacey Barr at 20.3 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.

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS:
Sophomore redshirt Peyton Ferris has overcome the injury bug and is currently MSU's second leading scorer. The Twin Bridges native is averaging 8.8 points per game coming off the bench. In addition, Ferris is pulling down 4.8 rebounds per contest and is shooting 43 percent from the field.

DIAPER DANDIES:
MSU's three freshmen on the active Bobcat roster have made significant contributions this season. Delany Junkermier, a 6-foot product of Mead High School in Spokane, leads the Big Sky shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. Hannah Caudill has played in all 15 games, including seven starts and is second on the team with 20 triples. Bozeman's Amy Davis is one of seven Bobcats averaging 3.5 rebounds or better.

THE LILAC CITY:
The Bobcats have three players representing Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier combined for a whopping 37 points, 19 rebounds, 13 assists and three triples against Idaho State and Weber State. Junkermier, a graduate of Mead High School, has connected on 21-of-51 from beyond the 3-point arc shooting 41 percent, while Caudill is averaging 7.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in her first 15 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. 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.