Cat-Lady Griz, Round 1

Saturday, February 4

Missoula, MT

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Montana

Bobcat senior Riley Nordgaard

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

2/1/2017 6:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball

MSU WBB NOTES (PDF)

The Montana State women’s basketball team will make the trek up I-90 to Missoula, Friday evening. The intra-state rivals will meet for the 102nd time on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

By: Tom Schulz

MONTANA STATE (15-5, 8-2) at MONTANA (3-18, 0-10)
    Date:                             Feb. 4, 2017
    Tipoff: 2 p.m. (MST)
    Site:                              Dahlberg Arena (7,200) * Missoula, MT
    Radio:                           KMMS 1450 AM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
    Live Video: WatchBigSky.com;
    Live Stats: gogriz.com
    Live TV:                        SWX Montana

NEXT UP: The Montana State women's basketball team will make the trek up I-90 to Missoula, Friday evening. The intra-state rivals will meet for the 102nd time on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

A LOOK AHEAD: Following its game at Montana on Saturday, the Bobcats will enjoy playing five of its last seven games within the confines of Worthington Arena. MSU will host Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

ON A SERIES NOTE: Montana holds a 77-24 advantage in its all-time series with Montana State. In their last ten meetings, the Lady Griz hold a slight 6-4 margin. The two squads have split their season series the past two years, each winning on their home hardwood. The last time the Bobcats won in Dahlberg Arena was Jan. 19, 2013 in a 58-49 decision. As head coach, Tricia Binford is 6-18 all-time against UM. Saturday's game will be the first between the two former playing rivals. Tricia (Bader) Binford and Shannon (Cate) Schweyen met three times in the 1991-92 season. They split the season series - UM winning at Boise State (64-57) - and the Broncos returning the favor (81-77) in Missoula. Montana defeated BSU (82-67) in Boise in the Big Sky title game to advance to the NCAAs. The Broncos won the regular-season title.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Bobcats are riding a 20-game home winning streak after its 83-76 victory over Portland State on Jan. 21. The streak is the fifth longest at the NCAA Division I level, behind UConn 59, Baylor 54, UCLA 25 and Bucknell 21.

STATE OF THE LEAGUE: The Big Sky is currently ranked 21st out of 32 conferences in the RPI. This week's NCAA Nitty-Gritty team RPI has MSU ranked 67, followed by Northern Colorado 97, North Dakota 148, Idaho 154, Eastern Washington 155, Idaho State 210, Portland State 229, Sacramento State 246, Southern Utah 250, Weber State 257, Northern Arizona 276, and Montana 333.

BOBCAT PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hannah Caudill led Montana State to two road wins averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. Caudill had her best outing as MSU cruised past Eastern Washington with a career-high 23 points, including a career-best seven 3-pointers. She also dished out seven assists and had three rebounds. In MSU's win at Idaho, Caudill posted 12 points and four assists. In all, Caudill finished the two games shooting 52 percent (11-21) from the field, 63 percent (10-16) from beyond the 3-point arc and 75 percent (3-4) from the line.

SCOUTING THE LADY GRIZ: Montana enters Saturday's game 3-18 overall and 0-10 in Big Sky Conference action. UM's three victories have come over NCAA Division I Incarnate Word, and Frontier Conference foes Great Falls and Rocky Mountain College. Redshirt freshman Taylor Goligoski is the only Lady Griz player in double-figure scoring at 11.2 points per game. Last weekend, Montana dropped a 64-57 decision to Eastern Washington, before suffering a 75-50 setback at Idaho. Goligoski and Hailey Nicholson paced Montana in the two games averaging 8.5 points per contest, while Emma Stockholm chipped in 8.0 ppg. Under the boards, the Lady Griz have been led by Mekayla Isaak and McKenzi Johnston at 5.3 and 4.9 rebounds per contest, respectively. Goligoski, a 5-8 guard from Hamilton, is also Montana's threat from behind the 3-point arc. On the season, she has connected on 27-of-88 attempts - 30.7 percent. Head Coach and Lady Griz All-American Shannon Schweyen is in her 1st season at UM.

TALE OF THE TAPE: MSU vs. UM

MSU.................. Stat.................. UM
72.2................... PPG................. 52.5
41.1................... FG%................. 33.9
34.4.................. 3FG%................ 24.3
70.4................... FT%................. 63.6
43.8.................. REB/G................ 37.0
15.6.................. AST/G................ 11.0
7.4.................... STL/G.................. 5.8
2.9................... BLK/G.................. 2.1
16.4.................. TO/G................ 14.6

BUELLER: Peyton Ferris, a two-time Big Sky Top Reserve of the Year, came off the bench in all 31 games last season. This year, Ferris has started every game. She leads the team, and is third in the Big Sky, averaging 17.1 points per game. Ferris is third on the squad in rebounding at 6.9 per contest, which is eighth in the league. Ferris joined MSU's 1,000-point club with a season-best 32 points at North Dakota. Currently, she is 18th on MSU's all-time scoring chart, and fifty points away from surpassing Liz Holz (86-89) for the 17th spot. Ferris, who was voted 2016-17 preseason Big Sky MVP, recorded her only double-double of the year with 11 points and ten boards vs. Great Falls. Heading into last weekend, Ferris had put together eight straight double-figure scoring games, before Eastern Washington held her to just eight points on three-of-13 from the floor. Last year, Ferris finished eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage shooting at a 58 percent clip.

THE LIFE OF RILEY: Riley Nordgaard, the 2015-16 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, made her debut on Nov. 23 at UC Davis. Nordgaard made an immediate impact earning Big Sky Player of the Week kudos, after averaging 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in three games. The Canby, Minn., product has four double-doubles on the season after posting a career-high 26 points against Sacramento State connecting on 8-of-14 from the floor. She also hauled down 10 rebounds against the Hornets. In MSU's win over Portland State, Nordgaard tallied 25 points and nine rebounds. She had a career-high 13 rebounds against Idaho on Jan. 7. She is currently second on the team with 39 3-pointers and is second shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc.

DISHING THE ROCK: Junior Hannah Caudill is averaging 4.6 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the Big Sky. Her +1.4 assist-turnover ratio is seventh in the league. The graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Washington posted a career-high 23 points at Eastern Washington on Saturday. Last winter, Caudill led the Big Sky averaging 5.4 assists per contest. She dished out 166 assists, which was second most ever recorded in a single-season at MSU. Caudill, who has averaged 7.0 apg over the last four outings, broke into MSU's all-time career assists rankings two weeks ago and is currently ninth all-time with 313 assists. She is also seventh all-time in three-point field-goals made at 126 triples.

THAT AINT NO LIE: Sophomore Annika Lai has started four games this season filling in during the absence of Riley Nordgaard. The 6-1 product of Boulder, Colorado posted a career-high 15 points against Idaho on Jan. 7, connecting on seven-of-13 from the field. The double-figure scoring game was her fifth of the season. Lai opened the 2016-17 campaign with a pair of double-digit scoring outings. In Montana State's 83-68 win at Weber State, Lai grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. She combined the performance with 13 points for her first-ever double-double. On the season, Lai is averaging 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is averaging 23.6 minutes per contest. Lai is third on the Bobcat team shooting 43 percent from the field. She is also fourth in scoring and rebounding on the Bobcat squad.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: Senior Margreet Barhoum has had a knack for answering the bell when MSU has needed a three-pointer this season. Barhoum answered the call and dialed up a key 3-pointer in Montana State's win over Pacific on Nov. 25 with 41-seconds left. She hit another big triple at Portland on Dec. 11 with 2:21 left to give the Cats the lead for good over the Pilots. Against Cal Poly on Dec. 20, her 3-pointer ignited a MSU fourth quarter run and her 3-pointer with six-minutes left vs. Portland State broke open a tie game. The Edmonds, Washington product, who is averaging 2.7 points per contest, finished with a season-high ten points - connecting on three-of-five from the field and two-of-two from beyond the 3-point line at Portland on Dec. 11. She also added two assists and a rebound against the Pilots. Barhoum is currently shooting 32 percent from long distance. Last weekend, Barhoum dished out two assists and had one steal.

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 20 games and is averaging 3.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Braxton is seventh in the Big Sky in rebounding and seventh with 1.0 blocks per game. Squires has played in all 20 games and is averaging 6.5 points per game, which is fifth best on the team and the second best output of any Bobcat bench player. She posted a season-high 17 points in MSU's loss at Northern Colorado. She is averaging 14.2 minutes per game and is third on the team with 22 three-pointers. On. Jan. 7 against Idaho, Squires notched five rebounds and a season-best five assists. Madeline Smith, a 6-2 post from Snohomish, Washington is averaging 15.6 minutes per game and is chipping in 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. She posted her seventh double-digit scoring game with 12 points against Sacramento State. Smith is averaging 7.6 points per game in Big Sky play, while shooting 60 percent from the field. Against Cal Poly on Dec. 20, Smith had a season-high 10 boards.

BOZEMAN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION: After the first 20 games, the Bobcats have connected on 148-of-430 from beyond the three-point arc. MSU is paced from long distance by Hannah Caudill with 45 triples. The Spokane product is followed by Riley Nordgaard 39, Oliana Squires 22, Delany Junkermier 16, Peyton Ferris 10 and Margreet Barhoum 9. MSU is shooting 34.4 percent from beyond 20-feet, 9-inches, which is the 2nd best in the Big Sky Conference. 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 122 consecutive games. The last time Montana State was held without a three-pointer was Jan. 24, 2013 (0-9) at Weber State in Ogden, UT.

STINGY D: The Bobcat defense has evolved into one of the best units in the Big Sky. MSU is first in field goal percentage defense (.367), 3-point field goal defense (.275), rebounding offense (43.8), and defensive rebounds (30.7). Nationally, the Bobcats are ranked No. 7 in defensive rebounds per game; No.11 in rebounds per game; No. 26 in 3-point field-goal percentage; No. 47 in rebound margin; No. 49 in field-goal percentage defense; and No. 50 in total rebounds.