Sunday, December 11
Portland, OR
1 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Portland
Senior Margreet Barhoum
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcat Women Travel to Portland for Sunday Showdown with Pilots
12/8/2016 4:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State women’s basketball team will play its only game of the week on Sunday, Dec. 11 at the University of Portland in the Rose City. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. (MST) in the Chiles Center.
MONTANA STATE (5-3) at PORTLAND (2-6)
Date: Dec. 11, 2016
Tipoff: 1 p.m. (MST)
Site: Chiles Center (4,852) * Portland, OR
Radio: 1450 KMMS-AM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
Live Stream: wccsports.com
Live Stats: portlandpilots.com
NEXT UP: The Montana State women's basketball team will play its only game of the week on Sunday, Dec. 11 at the University of Portland in the Rose City. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. (MST) in the Chiles Center.
ON A SERIES NOTE: Sunday's contest will be the 20th meeting between Montana State and Portland. The Pilots hold a 13-6 advantage in the all-time series dating back to Dec. 27, 1991. The Bobcats have won the last two games between the two rivals, including an 86-57 victory in Worthington on Nov. 20, 2015. Jasmine Hommes led four Bobcats in double-figures with 21 points. She was followed by Riley Nordgaard 13, Delany Junkermier 11 and Peyton Ferris 10. Hannah Caudill had eight points and six assists coming off the bench. Darian Slaga paced the Pilots with 15 points. The last time Montana State won in Portland was Nov. 11, 2011 (66-53).
ON A ROLL: The Bobcats are the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference rattling off four straight victories, including a pair of wins over West Coast Conference members Pacific (72-66) and Santa Clara (77-50). After playing at Portland on Sunday afternoon, MSU returns to Worthington Arena - after finals week - to host Cal Poly in its final non-conference game of the season on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Peyton Ferris was named the Montana State Player of the Week for her efforts against Carroll College and Seattle. Ferris led the Cats to a pair of victories averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 67 percent (16-24) from the field. In addition, Ferris recorded a season-high 24 points in MSU's win over Seattle U on Sunday afternoon.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS: The University of Portland is 2-6 overall after dropping a 76-37 decision at Weber State last Saturday in Ogden, UT. Portland also faced Big Sky member Portland State on Nov. 30 and came away with a 79-68 victory. The Pilots will play at the University of Oregon on Friday night in Eugene, before hosting the Bobcats. On the season, Portland has been led by Darian Slaga, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Prescott Valley, Ariz., who averages 10.4 points per game. Under the boards, the Pilots are led by Julie Spencer and Ashley Gray, who average 7.3 and 7.0 rebounds, respectively. Senior Holly Blades paces the Pilots from long distance with 10 3-point makes on the season.
TALE OF THE TAPE: MSU vs. Portland
MSU.................. Stat................... UP
69.5................... PPG................. 55.6
41.4................... FG%................. 35.0
30.5.................. 3FG%................ 30.5
68.1................... FT%................. 65.9
43.0.................. REB/G................ 36.1
15.3.................. AST/G................ 11.8
8.5.................... STL/G.................. 7.1
3.8................... BLK/G.................. 2.3
16.1.................. TO/G................ 16.3
BUELLER: Senior Peyton, a two-time Big Sky Conference Top Reserve of the Year, came off the bench in all 31 games last season. This year, Ferris has already made eight starts. She leads the team in scoring averaging 16.3 points per game and is also third in rebounding at 7.0 per contest. Her points per game average ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference, while she is listed sixth in rebounds. She was voted 2016-17 Preseason Big Sky Conference MVP. Ferris recorded her only double-double of the year with 11 points and ten boards vs. Great Falls. Last weekend, she averaged 19.5points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 67 percent from the field. The Twin Bridges product posted a season-high 24 points in MSU's win over Seattle U, connecting on nine-of-14 from the field. Last year, Ferris finished eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage shooting at a 58 percent clip.
THE LIFE OF RILEY: Senior Riley Nordgaard, the 2015-16 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, returned to the floor on Nov. 23 at UC Davis. Nordgaard made an immediate impact on the Bobcats squad earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week kudos. The Canby, Minnesota product has recorded two doubles-doubles (UC Davis & Pacific) on the season. Last week, Nordgaard, who was also selected to the Preseason All-Big Sky First-Team, averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field and from beyond the 20'9" arc. She registered a weekend-best 13 points in MSU's win over Seattle U. Nordgaard has been in double-digit scoring in all five games to date.
DISHING THE ROCK: Junior Hannah Caudill is averaging 4.7 assists per game, which ranks third in the Big Sky Conference. Her +1.9 assist-turnover ratio is also third in the league. The graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Washington dished out nine assists in MSU's two games last weekend. In addition, Caudill paces MSU from behind the arc with a team-best 14 3-pointers. Last winter, Caudill led the Big Sky averaging 5.4 assists per contest. Last year, she dished out 166 assists, which was second most ever recorded in a single season at Montana State. Caudill is currently 34 assists away from breaking onto MSU's all-time career assists chart. She is just three 3-point makes from the from the all-time Bobcat top 10. Last weekend, Caudill averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 assists per contest.
THAT AINT NO LIE: Sophomore Annika Lai started the first three game of the season filling in during the absence of Riley Nordgaard. The 6-1 product of Boulder, Colorado posted a career-high 13 points to pace MSU against Utah State, connecting on six-of-11 from the field. In addition, she pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, while adding two assists and two blocks. In the season-opener at Utah, Lai recorded 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Lai continued her outstanding start to the season coming off the bench to produce nine points and four steals in MSU's win over Santa Clara. She chipped in eight points and pulled down six boards in the Bobcats' victory over Pacific. On the season, Lai is averaging 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is averaging 23.9 minutes per contest. Lai pulled down seven boards in MSU's win over Seattle U last Sunday.
BOZEMAN DOWNTOWN
ASSOCIATION: After the first eight games, the Bobcats have connected on 50-of-164 from beyond the three-point arc. MSU is paced from long distance by Hannah Caudill with 14 makes and Oliana Squires with 12 triples. Riley Nordgaard is third with nine, while Delany Junkermier and Margreet Barhoum have each chipped in five, apiece. MSU is shooting 31 percent from beyond 20-feet, 9-inches. Last year, the Bobcats went 179-of-498 (35.9%) from three-point territory. As a team, Montana State has recorded at least one 3-pointer in the last 110 consecutive games. The last time MSU was held without a trey was Jan. 24, 2013 (0-9) at Weber State in Ogden, UT.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: Senior Margreet Barhoum answered the call and dialed up a key three-pointer in Montana State's win over Pacific on Nov. 25 with 41-seconds remaining in the game. The Edmonds, Washington product, who is averaging 3.9 points per contest, finished with a season-high eight points - connecting on three-of-four from the field and two-of-two from beyond the 3-point line. She also added two assists and a steal in Montana State's victory over the Tigers. Last weekend, Barhoum averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 assists per game.
FAB FRESH: All three Bobcat true-freshmen - Blaire Braxton. Oliana Squires and Madeline Smith - have made an impact in the early going. Braxton, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, has started all eight games and is averaging 5.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Braxton is third in the Big Sky in rebounding and third with 1.6 blocks per game. Squires has played in all eight games this season and is averaging 8.9 points per game, which is third best on the team and the best output of any Bobcat bench player. Squires is second on the squad shooting 86 percent (19-22) from the line. The mark is also the fourth highest in the Big Sky Conference. She is averaging 16.8 minutes per game. Madeline Smith, a 6-2 post from Snohomish, Washington is averaging 13.4 minutes per game and is chipping in 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. She posted her second double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points in MSU's win over Seattle U.
STINGY D: The Bobcat defense is quickly evolving into one of the better units in the Big Sky Conference. Montana State is first in scoring defense (58.2), field goal percentage defense (.345), rebounding margin (+6.2), and defensive rebounds (29.8).
HARD BLOCK CAFE`: Montana State is currently second in the Big Sky in blocked shots, averaging 3.8 per game. Freshman Blaire Braxton is tops on the team with 13 swats. Braxton opened the season turning away four shots at Utah on Nov. 12.
TO CATCH A THIEF: MSU had logged 68 steals on the season. Eight Bobcat players have recorded five or more steals, paced by Riley Nordgaard with eleven. Nordgaard has made her presence felt on the defensive end having played in five games to date. Last year, the 5-10 forward who transferred to Bozeman from Augustana College, recorded 76 thefts, the eighth highest single-season total in Montana State history.
QUICK CAT-CH UP: MSU head coach Tricia Binford, who is in her 12th year leading the Bobcat program, welcomes back six letterwinners, including two starters (Riley Nordgaard, Delany Junkermier), a two-time Big Sky Top Reserve of the Year (Peyton Ferris) and Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year (Nordgaard). MSU also welcomes five newcomers. Last winter, the Bobcats captured the program's first-ever outright Big Sky regular-season title last season going 14-4 in league play. MSU notched a 21-10 overall mark - its first 20-win season since the 2002-03 campaign.
SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE: The Bobcats signed four players to National Letters-of-Intent during the early signing period. Signing with Montana State were Coral Gillette, a 6-foot guard from Bismarck, N.D., Tori Martell, a 5-8 guard from Somerset, Wis., Laura Pranger, a 6-2 forward from Centennial, Colo., and Ashley Van Sickle, a 5-7 guard from Arvada, Colo.
FANDEMONIUM: Montana State is averaging 1,331 fans per game. The mark is third best in the Big Sky Conference and ranks 111th in the nation, right behind UNC Asheville (1,333) and Oral Roberts (1,365). So. Carolina leads at 11,436 fans per game.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Wednesday, January 26
vs. Seattle (Live Stream Video)
Saturday, December 18
Inside The Brick (Lexi Deden)
Thursday, November 04
Inside The Brick (Leia Beattie)
Tuesday, November 02
