Bobcat Women Travel to Southern Utah; Northern Arizona

Thursday, January 22

Cedar City, UT

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Southern Utah University

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

1/21/2015 6:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Montana State women’s basketball team will conclude its most arduous portion of the 2015 Big Sky season playing at Southern Utah and Northern Arizona this weekend. By Sunday, the Bobcats will have played five-of-seven away from Worthington Arena and against four teams that finished in the top five of the Big Sky standings last winter.

By: Tom Schulz

ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
The Montana State women's basketball team will conclude its most arduous portion of the 2015 Big Sky season playing at Southern Utah and Northern Arizona this weekend. By Sunday, the Bobcats will have played five-of-seven away from Worthington Arena and against four teams that finished in the top five of the Big Sky standings last winter.

TUBE TIME:
Saturday's game at Northern Arizona will air live on FOX Sports Arizona beginning at 6:30 p.m. (DISH channel 415; DTV 686). FOX College Sports Central will also air live, but joined in progress at 7:30 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona will replay game on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1 a.m., and Monday, Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m.

THIS WEEK'S VITALS:
Montana State is 7-9 overall and 1-4 in Big Sky Conference action following its loss at Montana. Southern Utah is 10-5 overall and 3-2 in league play. Last weekend, the Thunderbirds defeated Idaho State (68-61) and dropped a 60-39 decision at Weber State. Northern Arizona, who hosts Montana on Thursday night, is 6-10 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky action. NAU lost at ISU and WSU.

REWINDING THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Montana State fell to Montana 62-48 on Saturday in Missoula. MSU jumped out early taking an 8-0 advantage on Kalli Durham jumper. UM establish its first lead at the 9:38 mark on a Hannah Doran triple. The Lady Griz closed out the half with six unanswered points to take a 29-23 lead at intermission. In the second stanza, MSU found itself down four points before rattling off a 12-0 to claim a 41-33 lead with 12:25 left on a Hannah Caudill trey The run saw the Bobcats connect on 7-of-11 from the field. The Bobcats led by eight points with 10:47 left, before Montana went on a 10-0 run to take a 45-43 advantage. Following a MSU free throw that cut the margin to one with 6:40 left, Montana reeled off nine points in two minutes and never looked back. Peyton Ferris posted a game and career-best 20 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. The 5-9 forward recorded 15 points and seven rebounds in the opening period, and also finished the game with two blocks, an assist and a steal.

TRENDING TOPICS:
Montana State is 6-2 when leading at halftime and 0-7 when entering intermission with a deficit...The Bobcats are 6-3 overall when shooting 70 percent or better from the free throw line and just 1-6 when shooting 60 percent or below...MSU needs to guard the arc as its opponents are 8-2 against the Bobcats when notching more three-pointers...MSU is 5-1 when committing fewer turnovers.

THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Southern Utah 10-5 overall, 3-2 Big Sky: The Thunderbirds split a pair of road games last weekend, defeating Idaho State 68-61, before suffering a 60-39 setback at Weber State on Saturday. SUU lost its All-Big Sky Conference standout Hailey Mandelko to a knee injury in the early moments of its game against Sacramento State on Jan. 3, but have rallied posting a 3-1 mark since that time. Mandelko was averaging 15.1 points per game. The T-Birds are now paced by Desiree Jackson, Brenna Gates and Marquelle Funk, who average 13.0, 10.5 and 10.3 points per contest. SUU is led under the glass by Gates, who averages 7.5 rebounds per outing. As a team, Southern Utah shoots 41% from the floor.

CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats are ranked third in the Big Sky Conference shooting 42.2 percent from the field. North Dakota leads the league at 45.2 percent...MSU is ranked 57st in the nation averaging 15.7 assists per game; 72nd in field-goal percentage; and 97th in assist/turnover ratio at +.92 per contest...Individually, Lindsay Stockton is 49th in the nation averaging 4.9 assists per game...The Gonzaga Prep graduate is also 126th overall in assist/turnover ratio at +1.63...Jasmine Hommes is ranked 69th in the country shooting 50.4 percent from the floor. In addition, she is 63rd in scoring at 17.8 points per game; and 198th in blocked shots at 1.19 swats per game...in the most current RPI, Montana State is 199 in the country. In front of the Bobcats in the Big Sky RPI are North Dakota 118, Sacramento State 131, Eastern Washington 152, Montana 155, and Idaho 165.

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 16 games to date. Stockton is second in the Big Sky Conference action averaging 4.9 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 14-of-16 games without a negative assist/turnover ratio.

KICKIN' IT:
Jackie Elliott has started all 16 games for the Bobcats and is averaging 7.0 points and a team-best 6.1 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 16 outings this season. She leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 17.8 per game, which is good for second in the league behind Idaho's Stacey Barr at 20.4 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 9.8 points per and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Ferris had a career game at Montana notching 20 points and 12 boards for her first career double-double.

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 40 percent from beyond the arc. Hannah Caudill has played in all 16 games, including eight starts and is first on the team with 20 triples. Bozeman's Amy Davis is one of seven Bobcats averaging 3.0 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 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two three-pointers at Montana on Saturday afternoon. Junkermier, a graduate of Mead High School, has connected on 21-of-53 from beyond the 3-point arc shooting 40 percent, while Caudill is averaging 7.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in her first 16 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.