Bobcat Women Lead Wire-to-Wire to Sting League-Leading Hornets

Thursday, January 29

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

8-11, 2-6BSC

Sacramento State

9-11, 7-2BSC

Team	1	2	F
Sacramento State	35	29	64
Montana State	41	50	91

Jasmine Hommes had 18 points and eight rebounds in MSU's win over Sacramento State.

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

Bobcat Women Lead Wire-to-Wire to Sting League-Leading Hornets

1/29/2015 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

“The timing of the match-up was a very good thing,” MSU Head Coach Tricia Binford said. “We like to get out and run. The great start really helped mentally. It was a great team effort. I can’t say enough for our bench play. They out-scored Sacramento State’s bench, and not many teams can say that.”

By: Tom Schulz

It was just what the doctor ordered. The Montana State women's basketball team met the challenge and withstood the frenetic pace of Sacramento State to notch a convincing 91-64 win over the Big Sky Conference's top team, Thursday night in Worthington Arena.

Montana State (8-11, 2-6) jumped out quick 8-0 lead three minutes into the game and never looked back, building an 11-point cushion at the 6:12 mark and holding off a Sacramento State (9-11, 7-2) 9-2 run to take a 41-35 advantage at intermission.

The Hornets forced 21 Montana State turnovers in the first twenty minutes, but the Bobcats balanced the slate shooting 55 percent from the field, while holding the Hornets to just 27 percent.

"The timing of the match-up was a very good thing," MSU Head Coach Tricia Binford said. "We like to get out and run. The great start really helped mentally. It was a great team effort. I can't say enough for our bench play. They out-scored Sacramento State's bench, and not many teams can say that."

The Bobcats were able to slow the pace and get back into its traditional rhythm in the second stanza. MSU used an 8-2 run to begin the final stanza and pushed its biggest margin to 27-points on a Michelle Seitz three-pointer in the waning seconds.

All eleven players scored for MSU, including five in double-digits. Junior Jasmine Hommes finished with a game-high 18 points, while Peyton Ferris and Jackie Elliott added 13 each, and Lindsay Stockton and Amy Davis poured in ten, apiece. Davis, a freshman from Bozeman, finished with career-high points and pulled down a season-best seven rebounds.

"We had great energy," Binford said. "We had high turnovers, but that's to Sacramento State's credit. We did a nice job cutting that in half after halftime. They gave us open shots and we knocked them down. We also had a pretty outstanding effort under the glass."

The Bobcats dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Hornets 63-32. Ferris and Durham each pulled down nine rebounds, while Hommes added eight and Davis and Alexa Dawkins with seven.

For the game, MSU shot 58 percent from the field, while holding SAC to 29 percent. MSU also held the Hornets to 21 points under its league-leading 85.6 points per game average.

The Bobcats snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, while halting Sacramento State's seven-game winning stretch. The Hornets were led by Hallie Gennett and Takara Burse with 13 points, each.

Montana State will host Portland State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Worthington Arena.