Bobcats Clip T-Birds in Big Sky Opener

Thursday, December 31

BOZEMAN

2 p.m.

Montana State University

8-4, 1-0BSC

Southern Utah

3-9, 0-1BSC

Southern Utah

Montana State

Junior Riley Nordgaard had a team-high 17 points against SUU.

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

12/31/2015 5:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

“I really liked how we came out of the gate,” said MSU 11th-year head coach Tricia Binford. “Southern Utah did a nice job taking away our post play, but we knocked down some threes and were able to get a nice lead.”

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State junior Riley Nordgaard recorded a team-high 17 points to guide five Bobcat players in double-digit scoring as MSU cruised to an 86-59 victory over Southern Utah, Thursday afternoon in the Big Sky Conference opener for both squads.

Montana State (8-4, 1-0) opened the contest with an early 9-2 run and built its biggest lead of the stanza at 20-9 following a Hannah Caudill three-pointer at the 3:50 mark. Southern Utah (3-9, 0-1) cut the margin to 22-15 at the end of the quarter.

"I really liked how we came out of the gate," said MSU 11^th-year head coach Tricia Binford. "Southern Utah did a nice job taking away our post play, but we knocked down some threes and were able to get a nice lead."

Five of MSU's seven first quarter baskets came from beyond the three-point arc and all five came from different players.

The Bobcats exploded in the second quarter outscoring the Thunderbirds 30-17 to take a 52-28 lead into intermission. MSU junior Peyton Ferris came off the bench to post 14 points in the first half, while Nordgaard added 13.

"We're at our best when we are locking down on defense and being unselfish on the offensive end," Binford said. "We were the stronger, more experienced team in the first half."

But as good as the Bobcats played in the first half, the third quarter once again proved to be its nemesis. The Thunderbirds cut its 24-point halftime deficit in half, closing to within 59-47 at the 2:08 mark following a pair of Breanu Reid free throws. MSU held a 66-51 cushion heading into the final period.

"We came out flat and weren't engaged," Binford said. "That is something that we have to get corrected. Southern Utah did a nice job taking advantage of our situation."

MSU quickly regained its composure outscoring SUU 20-8 in the final ten-minutes. A layup via freshman Annika Lai with 24-seconds left gave the Bobcats its biggest lead at 86-58.

Nordgaard finished shooting six-of-12 from the field, including three 3-pointers. In addition, she pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and added three steals, an assist and a blocked shot.

"Kudos to Southern Utah for taking away our inside game," Nordgaard said. "I'm really proud of my teammates for hitting their shots. We're a good shooting team."

Also in double-figures for MSU were Ferris 15, Lindsay Stockton 12, and Dawkins and freshman Haley Blodgett with ten, apiece.

Blodgett, who saw her most minutes of the season, connected on five-of-five from the field and hauled down four rebounds, while adding three blocks, two assists and a steal.

For the game, MSU shot 43 percent from the field, including 53 percent in the first half. The Bobcats also dished out 19 assists, led by Caudill with a game-high six. SUU shot 43 percent from the floor and committed 23 turnovers. The Thunderbirds held a 43-38 advantage under the boards.

Southern Utah was led by Jessica Richardson with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Montana State will host Northern Arizona on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worthington Arena.