2016-16 Big Sky Conference Regular-Season Champions
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Big Sky Champs: Ready for the Road to Reno
3/5/2016 8:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State won the regular-season Big Sky title and will be the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament beginning Monday, March 7 at the Reno Events Center in Nevada. The Bobcats received a first-round bye and will open tourney play against the winner of #8 Northern Colorado/#9 Idaho State on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:05 p.m. (MST).
NEXT UP:
Montana State won the regular-season Big Sky title and will be the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament beginning Monday, March 7 at the Reno Events Center in Nevada. The Bobcats received a first-round bye and will open tourney play against the winner of #8 Northern Colorado/#9 Idaho State on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:05 p.m. (MST).
BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS:
For the first time in Montana State women's basketball history the Bobcats won an outright Big Sky Conference regular-season title. Despite going 0-2 on the road last weekend at Northern Colorado and North Dakota, MSU got some help from a couple of league foes and when the dust settled on Friday night, Montana State's 14-4 league ledger was good enough to win the title. The Bobcats have won four Big Sky titles - 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2016. It's only Big Sky Conference Tournament title was in 1993, when the Cats defeated Montana and advanced to the NCAAs where it lost to Washington in the opening-round.
A YEAR AGO AT THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT:
MSU lost to Sacramento State 78-62 in quarterfinal action in Missoula, Mont.
A CLOSER LOOK:
MSU is 21-8 overall, which is its best record since the 2002-03 Bobcats went 21-9 overall, en route to a WNIT berth. Montana State's 14 Big Sky wins is the most under Tricia Binford. MSU's 20-win season is its first since the 2002-03 campaign. The 1987-88 team posted the most wins in school history at 24, while the 1992-93 championship squad logged 22 victories.
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Senior Jasmine Hommes garnered MSU's last Player of the Week honor for the regular-season after averaging 20 points and 3.5 rebounds per game against Northern Colorado and North Dakota. The Lynden, Washington product shot 52 percent from the field and 85 percent from the line. In addition, she added five assists, three blocks and a steal. At Northern Colorado, Hommes registered recorded 25 points on nine-of-15 from the floor. At UND on Friday afternoon, she posted 15 points, three blocks, three rebounds and two assists.
THE LAST TIME OUT:
The University of North Dakota overcame an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Montana State 77-76, Friday afternoon in the final conference game of the year for both squads. Despite losing a double-digit advantage, Montana State had a chance at the buzzer for the victory, but a five-foot jumper by Jasmine Hommes rolled around the rim and fell out. MSU almost pulled off another miracle finish after trailing by six-points with thirty-seconds remaining. Peyton Ferris recorded 17 points to lead four Bobcat players in double-figures. Delany Junkermier 16, Hommes 15, and Hannah Caudill 11 also hit double-digits. Ferris led MSU under the glass with a game-high seven rebounds.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Montana State's semifinal opponent on Wednesday afternoon will be the winner of #8 Northern Colorado and #9 Idaho State, which is slated for Monday, March 7 at 1:05 p.m. (MST). In its head-to-head meetings this season, UNC swept ISU winning 48-47 in Greeley and 61-59 in Pocatello. The Bobcats split its season series with Northern Colorado defeating the Bears 66-58 in Bozeman, before suffering an 80-73 setback in Greeley last Wednesday night. In its only meeting against Idaho State, the Bobcats pulled off a miracle as a Delany Junkermier 3-pointer at the buzzer forced and extra period with the Bobcats eventually coming out on top 82-80 in Worthington Arena. Last weekend, Northern Colorado went 1-1 (lost to Montana in overtime). ISU defeated E. Washington and Idaho.
A SUPER BOWL WORTHY PERFORMANCE JUST LIKE HER NAMESAKE:
Junior Peyton Ferris had a performance for the ages in Montana State's 92-71 win over Weber State on Feb. 25. The Twin Bridges product made her first nine baskets and finished the game with a career-high 33 points on 16-of-17 from the field. Her shooting prowess of 94.1 percent set a school record breaking the old mark of 90.9 percent by Lori Cloar on Feb. 26, 1989.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes became the 21st member of Montana State's prestigious 1,000-point club and the second Hommes to accomplish the milestone in the Blue and Gold. Hommes' Aunt Blythe Hommes-Hintz recorded a career 1,265 points from 1993-97. Blythe Hommes is currently 12th on MSU's all-time list, after Jasmine Hommes passed her at Idaho on Jan. 23. Jasmine now sits sixth with 1,429 points. Blythe Hommes was the 1997 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Montana State Athletics Hall of Fame. Another aunt, Brooke Hommes-Dunham (1992-96), was a four-time All-Big Sky Conference Academic pick for the Bobcats.
BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER:
Montana State junior Peyton Ferris has picked up where she left of last season after being named the Big Sky Conference's Top Reserve. The Twin Bridges product is second on the squad averaging 14.9 points and is second in rebounding at 5.6 rebounds per game. Ferris is also shooting an impressive 59 percent from the field and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
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. Stockton is second on the team averaging 3.8 assists per game. Her assist/turnover ratio is currently +1.2.
THE LIFE OF RILEY:
Transfer Riley Nordgaard, who sat out under NCAA rules last winter after coming to MSU from Augustana in South Dakota, has made an impact on the Bobcat squad. The Canby, Minnesota product is averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. In addition, she has connected on 49-of-113 three-point attempts shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.
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.
THE LILAC CITY:
Three Bobcat players are from Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier combined for 47 points, 21 rebounds, 18 assists and nine 3-pointers last weekend. This winter, Caudill, a graduate of Gonzaga Prep, nailed the decisive 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining at Sacramento State on Jan. 7 to give the Bobcats the win. She also posted her first double-double of her career dishing out ten assists at Sac State. Ironically, her second double-double came against Sacramento State on Feb. 6 with 13 points and ten assists. Fellow Bullpup Lindsay Stockton totaled 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals against Northern Colorado and North Dakota. Junkermier, a Mead High graduate, tallied a career-high 19 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Feb. 6. Against the Hornets, Junkermier also connected on a career-best six 3-pointers.
HARD BLOCK CAFE:
The Bobcats established a new single-game school record against the University of Montana Western on Dec. 15 with 12 blocked shots, including a team-high three swats by senior Jasmine Hommes. The old mark - held three times - was set last against Valparaiso on Dec. 1, 2013.
TOSSING THE ROCK:
Montana State set a new school record with 32 assists in its 106-59 win at Portland State on Jan. 9. The old mark of 31 was set against Nevada (1978-88) and Idaho State (2003-04). The Bobcats came up an assist short of matching the school mark with 31 against Sacramento State on Feb. 6.
A HELPING HAND:
MSU is seventh in the nation in assists per game at 18.3.
BOBCAT OFFENSE IS LIT:
Montana State established a new school record with 116 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 6. In addition, the Bobcats also set a new school record shooting 81.8 percent (9-11) from beyond the 3-point arc.
CHARITY CASE:
MSU hit a school-record 41-of-54 FTs vs. Idaho State.
A LITTLE NATIONAL RECOGNITION:
MSU received 15 votes in this week's Mid Major Top 25 as published by CollegeInsider.com.UW Green Bay is ranked No. 1, while two of MSU's non-conference opponents earned rankings- No. 14 San Diego and No. 23 Gonzaga.
THIS WEEK IN BRACKETOLOGY:
ESPN women's basketball analyst Charlie Creme has Montana State as the No. 15 seed playing in the Dallas regional against No. 2 seed Oregon State in Corvallis.
BOBCAT BULLETS:
Hannah Caudill has 160 assists, which is 3rd most in a single-season at MSU...for the first time since the 1987-88 season, MSU has two players over 100 assists (Caudill 160 & Lindsay Stockton 104). The last duo to accomplish the milestone were Liz Holz (200) and Ann Reno (102).
Montana State won the regular-season Big Sky title and will be the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament beginning Monday, March 7 at the Reno Events Center in Nevada. The Bobcats received a first-round bye and will open tourney play against the winner of #8 Northern Colorado/#9 Idaho State on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:05 p.m. (MST).
BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS:
For the first time in Montana State women's basketball history the Bobcats won an outright Big Sky Conference regular-season title. Despite going 0-2 on the road last weekend at Northern Colorado and North Dakota, MSU got some help from a couple of league foes and when the dust settled on Friday night, Montana State's 14-4 league ledger was good enough to win the title. The Bobcats have won four Big Sky titles - 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2016. It's only Big Sky Conference Tournament title was in 1993, when the Cats defeated Montana and advanced to the NCAAs where it lost to Washington in the opening-round.
A YEAR AGO AT THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT:
MSU lost to Sacramento State 78-62 in quarterfinal action in Missoula, Mont.
A CLOSER LOOK:
MSU is 21-8 overall, which is its best record since the 2002-03 Bobcats went 21-9 overall, en route to a WNIT berth. Montana State's 14 Big Sky wins is the most under Tricia Binford. MSU's 20-win season is its first since the 2002-03 campaign. The 1987-88 team posted the most wins in school history at 24, while the 1992-93 championship squad logged 22 victories.
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Senior Jasmine Hommes garnered MSU's last Player of the Week honor for the regular-season after averaging 20 points and 3.5 rebounds per game against Northern Colorado and North Dakota. The Lynden, Washington product shot 52 percent from the field and 85 percent from the line. In addition, she added five assists, three blocks and a steal. At Northern Colorado, Hommes registered recorded 25 points on nine-of-15 from the floor. At UND on Friday afternoon, she posted 15 points, three blocks, three rebounds and two assists.
THE LAST TIME OUT:
The University of North Dakota overcame an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Montana State 77-76, Friday afternoon in the final conference game of the year for both squads. Despite losing a double-digit advantage, Montana State had a chance at the buzzer for the victory, but a five-foot jumper by Jasmine Hommes rolled around the rim and fell out. MSU almost pulled off another miracle finish after trailing by six-points with thirty-seconds remaining. Peyton Ferris recorded 17 points to lead four Bobcat players in double-figures. Delany Junkermier 16, Hommes 15, and Hannah Caudill 11 also hit double-digits. Ferris led MSU under the glass with a game-high seven rebounds.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
Montana State's semifinal opponent on Wednesday afternoon will be the winner of #8 Northern Colorado and #9 Idaho State, which is slated for Monday, March 7 at 1:05 p.m. (MST). In its head-to-head meetings this season, UNC swept ISU winning 48-47 in Greeley and 61-59 in Pocatello. The Bobcats split its season series with Northern Colorado defeating the Bears 66-58 in Bozeman, before suffering an 80-73 setback in Greeley last Wednesday night. In its only meeting against Idaho State, the Bobcats pulled off a miracle as a Delany Junkermier 3-pointer at the buzzer forced and extra period with the Bobcats eventually coming out on top 82-80 in Worthington Arena. Last weekend, Northern Colorado went 1-1 (lost to Montana in overtime). ISU defeated E. Washington and Idaho.
A SUPER BOWL WORTHY PERFORMANCE JUST LIKE HER NAMESAKE:
Junior Peyton Ferris had a performance for the ages in Montana State's 92-71 win over Weber State on Feb. 25. The Twin Bridges product made her first nine baskets and finished the game with a career-high 33 points on 16-of-17 from the field. Her shooting prowess of 94.1 percent set a school record breaking the old mark of 90.9 percent by Lori Cloar on Feb. 26, 1989.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Jasmine Hommes became the 21st member of Montana State's prestigious 1,000-point club and the second Hommes to accomplish the milestone in the Blue and Gold. Hommes' Aunt Blythe Hommes-Hintz recorded a career 1,265 points from 1993-97. Blythe Hommes is currently 12th on MSU's all-time list, after Jasmine Hommes passed her at Idaho on Jan. 23. Jasmine now sits sixth with 1,429 points. Blythe Hommes was the 1997 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Montana State Athletics Hall of Fame. Another aunt, Brooke Hommes-Dunham (1992-96), was a four-time All-Big Sky Conference Academic pick for the Bobcats.
BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER:
Montana State junior Peyton Ferris has picked up where she left of last season after being named the Big Sky Conference's Top Reserve. The Twin Bridges product is second on the squad averaging 14.9 points and is second in rebounding at 5.6 rebounds per game. Ferris is also shooting an impressive 59 percent from the field and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
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. Stockton is second on the team averaging 3.8 assists per game. Her assist/turnover ratio is currently +1.2.
THE LIFE OF RILEY:
Transfer Riley Nordgaard, who sat out under NCAA rules last winter after coming to MSU from Augustana in South Dakota, has made an impact on the Bobcat squad. The Canby, Minnesota product is averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. In addition, she has connected on 49-of-113 three-point attempts shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.
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.
THE LILAC CITY:
Three Bobcat players are from Spokane, Washington - The Lilac City. Lindsay Stockton, Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier combined for 47 points, 21 rebounds, 18 assists and nine 3-pointers last weekend. This winter, Caudill, a graduate of Gonzaga Prep, nailed the decisive 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining at Sacramento State on Jan. 7 to give the Bobcats the win. She also posted her first double-double of her career dishing out ten assists at Sac State. Ironically, her second double-double came against Sacramento State on Feb. 6 with 13 points and ten assists. Fellow Bullpup Lindsay Stockton totaled 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals against Northern Colorado and North Dakota. Junkermier, a Mead High graduate, tallied a career-high 19 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Feb. 6. Against the Hornets, Junkermier also connected on a career-best six 3-pointers.
HARD BLOCK CAFE:
The Bobcats established a new single-game school record against the University of Montana Western on Dec. 15 with 12 blocked shots, including a team-high three swats by senior Jasmine Hommes. The old mark - held three times - was set last against Valparaiso on Dec. 1, 2013.
TOSSING THE ROCK:
Montana State set a new school record with 32 assists in its 106-59 win at Portland State on Jan. 9. The old mark of 31 was set against Nevada (1978-88) and Idaho State (2003-04). The Bobcats came up an assist short of matching the school mark with 31 against Sacramento State on Feb. 6.
A HELPING HAND:
MSU is seventh in the nation in assists per game at 18.3.
BOBCAT OFFENSE IS LIT:
Montana State established a new school record with 116 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 6. In addition, the Bobcats also set a new school record shooting 81.8 percent (9-11) from beyond the 3-point arc.
CHARITY CASE:
MSU hit a school-record 41-of-54 FTs vs. Idaho State.
A LITTLE NATIONAL RECOGNITION:
MSU received 15 votes in this week's Mid Major Top 25 as published by CollegeInsider.com.UW Green Bay is ranked No. 1, while two of MSU's non-conference opponents earned rankings- No. 14 San Diego and No. 23 Gonzaga.
THIS WEEK IN BRACKETOLOGY:
ESPN women's basketball analyst Charlie Creme has Montana State as the No. 15 seed playing in the Dallas regional against No. 2 seed Oregon State in Corvallis.
BOBCAT BULLETS:
Hannah Caudill has 160 assists, which is 3rd most in a single-season at MSU...for the first time since the 1987-88 season, MSU has two players over 100 assists (Caudill 160 & Lindsay Stockton 104). The last duo to accomplish the milestone were Liz Holz (200) and Ann Reno (102).
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