Montana State University
Sacramento State
Bobcats Look to Stir Things Up at The Nest
2/17/2017 5:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana State women’s basketball team plays its final road game of the Big Sky Conference season at Sacramento State, Saturday, Feb. 18. The game will tip-off at 3 p.m. (MST) in The Nest.
MONTANA STATE (18-6, 11-3) at SACRAMENTO STATE (9-15, 5-8)
Date: Feb. 18, 2017
Tipoff: 3 p.m. (MST)
Site: The Nest (1,012) * Sacramento, CA
Radio: My 103.5 FM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
Live Video: WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: hornetsports.com
NEXT UP: The Montana State women's basketball team plays its final road game of the Big Sky Conference season at Sacramento State, Saturday, Feb. 18. The game will tip-off at 3 p.m. (MST) in The Nest.
ON A SERIES NOTE: MSU is 30-11 all-time against Sacramento State dating back to Jan. 24, 1997 - a 70-51 Bobcat win in Worthington Arena. Montana State has captured the last three straight with the Hornets, including a season sweep last season. Earlier this year, MSU defeated Sacramento State 84-80 on Jan. 19 in Bozeman. Montana State has won five-of-the-last six contest between the two league rivals.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: With its 69-65 loss at Portland State on Thursday night, the Bobcats slipped into third place by itself. Both North Dakota and Northern Colorado held home court and sit atop the Big Sky standings at 12-2. Eastern Washington currently holds the final seed at No. 4. They will play Idaho, who is currently tied with Idaho State for fifth place, on Saturday afternoon. ISU travels to UNC.
LOOKING AHEAD: MSU will finish its regular-season Big Sky Conference road play at Sacramento State on Saturday, before wrapping the regular-season with three consecutive home games Montana (2/25), Idaho State (3/1) and Weber State (3/3) in Worthington Arena.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Bobcats are riding a 22-game home winning streak after its 71-68 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday. The streak is tied for third longest at the NCAA Division I level, behind UConn 59, UCLA 25 and Bucknell 22.
STATE OF THE LEAGUE: The Big Sky is currently ranked 19th out of 32 conferences in the RPI. This week's NCAA Nitty-Gritty team RPI has MSU ranked 70, followed by Northern Colorado 113, Idaho 124, Eastern Washington 126, North Dakota 135, Idaho State 176, Weber State 214, Portland State 255, Sacramento State 284, Southern Utah 286, Northern Arizona 305 and Montana 326.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS:Sacramento State is 9-15 overall and 5-8 in Big Sky Conference action after a convincing 99-69 decision over the University of Montana, Thursday night in The Nest. Four Hornets players reached double-figures against the Lady Griz. Pacing Sacramento State was Maranne Johnson with a game-high 21 points, which included five 3-pointers. In addition, Johnson also pulled down 10 rebounds. Also in double-digits were Emily Easom 18, Margaret Huntington 15 and Gretchen Harrigan 15. Huntington also guided Sacramento State under the boards with a game-high 17 rebounds. On the season, Johnson guides the in scoring averaging 15.2 points per game, while Harrigan 14.5 and Easom 13.0 also average double-figures. Montana State defeated Sacramento State 84-80 on Jan. 19 in Worthington Arena. Riley Nordgaard scored a career-high 26 points, while Hannah Caudill 14, Peyton Ferris 12, Madeline Smith 12 and Delany Junkermier 11 also hit double-digits. MSU held an 18-point lead in the contest with 5:59 left in the third quarter, before the Hornets were able to whittle the final margin to four points with at the final buzzer.
