Bobcat Women Host Idaho State, Weber State

Thursday, January 8

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Idaho State University

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Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

1/7/2015 5:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Montana State is 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky Conference play. Last weekend, the Bobcats dropped a pair of league road games, losing at North Dakota 82-74 and Northern Colorado 80-61. MSU is currently on a three-game losing skid, which includes an 82-61 loss at Washington State on Dec. 20.

By: Tom Schulz

BIG SKY CONFERENCE HOME OPENER:
The Montana State women's basketball team will open its 2015 Big Sky Conference home season when it hosts Idaho State and Weber State this weekend in Worthington Arena. The Bobcats will face Idaho State, Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in Worthington, followed by Weber State, Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.

THIS WEEK'S VITALS:
Montana State is 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky Conference play. Last weekend, the Bobcats dropped a pair of league road games, losing at North Dakota 82-74 and Northern Colorado 80-61. MSU is currently on a three-game losing skid, which includes an 82-61 loss at Washington State on Dec. 20. Idaho State enters Thursday night's contest with an identical 6-7 overall slate and is 1-1 in Big Sky action. The Bengals opened its season with a 71-50 victory over Idaho, before dropping an 88-75 decision to Eastern Washington. Both games were played in Pocatello, Idaho. Idaho State swept the season series from Montana State last winter, and has won four straight against the Bobcats. Weber State, who plays at Montana on Thursday night before making the trek down I-90 to Bozeman on Saturday, is 5-8 overall and 0-2 in conference action. Last weekend, the Wildcats dropped a pair of Big Sky games at home losing to Eastern Washington 69-55 and Idaho 67-60. Like MSU, Weber State will be looking to snap a three-game skid at Montana on Thursday. Last winter, Montana State swept the Wildcats, and has won 15 consecutive games over WSU.

REWINDING THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Montana State went on the Big Sky road to open its 2015 league schedule last weekend and dropped a pair of games. North Dakota handed MSU an 82-74 defeat on Thursday in a game that saw Bobcat leading scorer Jasmine Hommes saddled with foul trouble. Hommes played just 23 minutes at UND and finished with 14 points. Also in double-figures for the Bobcats were Jackie Elliott 16, Delany Junkermier 13, Lindsay Stockton 12 and Peyton Ferris 10. Stockton dished out a career-high 10 assists in the loss. For the game, the Bobcats shot a respectable 50 percent from the field, but were out-rebounded 42-29. On Saturday, Northern Colorado opened the game connecting on 8-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, en route to an 80-61 victory. The Bobcats were led in scoring by Stockton and Hommes with 12 points, apiece.

THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Idaho State 6-8 overall, 1-1 Big Sky: The Bengals fell 88-75 to Eastern Washington despite shooting a season-high 52.5% from the field on Saturday. ISU led by as many as 10 in the first half but EWU closed out the period on an 18-2 run to take the lead and never trail again. Apiphany Woods led the team with 22 points while Grace Kenyon added a career-high 20 points and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds. The Bengals are 6-1 this season when they have more rebounds than their opponent but have yet to win a game when the other team has more rebounds. ISU is undefeated 4-1 when they score at least 70 points in a game this season. They are 25-2 in the last four seasons when they reach that mark. The Bengals are led in scoring this season by Woods, who is averaging 20.5 points per game in Big Sky play, while shooting 63 percent from the floor. Weber State 5-8 overall, 0-2 Big Sky: WSU is 5-8 on the season following losses to Eastern Washington and Idaho. Weber State is ranked No. 5 in the nation for offensive rebounds averaging 19.2 per game. Regina Okoye is ranked No. 1 in the nation and No. 1 in Big Sky for steals averaging 4.15 per game. Jalen Carpenter guided the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game.

CAT CHAT:
The Bobcats rank among the top three in the Big Sky in field-goal percentage (2nd/.438) and assists per game (3rd/16.2) ...MSU is ranked 41st in the nation averaging 16.2 assists per game...the Bobcats are listed 43rd in the country shooting 43.8 percent from the floor...Montana State is ranked 66th overall in assists/turnover ratio at +0.99...the Bobcats are listed 104th in scoring (69.6 ppg)...individually, Jasmine Hommes is ranked 45th in the nation averaging 18.6 points per game...she is also 44th in field-goal percentage at 53.1 and 160th in blocked shots at 1.31 swats per contest...Lindsay Stockton is also nationally ranked. She is 75th overall in assist/turnover ratio at +1.94 and 41st in assists per game dishing out 5.1 per contest...in the most current RPI, Montana State is 146 in the country ...just one Big Sky team is ranked in the top 100 - North Dakota 81.

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 13 games to date. Stockton is first in Big Sky Conference action averaging 7.5 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 straight games without a negative assist/turnover ratio.

KICKIN' IT:
Jackie Elliott has started all 13 games for the Bobcats and is averaging 7.4 points and a team-best 5.7 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 18.6 per game, which is good for second in the league behind Idaho's Stacey Barr at 20.2 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 9.0 points per game coming off the bench. In addition, Ferris is pulling down 4.9 rebounds per contest and is shooting 45 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 40 percent from beyond the arc. Hannah Caudill has played in all 13 games, including seven starts and is tied with Junkermier with 19 triples. Bozeman's Amy Davis is one of seven Bobcats averaging 4.0 rpg 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 58 points, 17 rebounds, 22 assists and eight triples against North Dakota and Northern Colorado. Junkermier, a graduate of Mead High School, has connected on 19-of-47 from beyond the 3-point arc shooting 40 percent, while Caudill is averaging 8.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in her first 13 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.