Nation's Fourth Longest Home Win Streak to be Tested Thursday Night

Thursday, February 9

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Northern Arizona

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Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

Nation's Fourth Longest Home Win Streak to be Tested Thursday Night

2/8/2017 1:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

MSU WBB NOTES (pdf)

The Montana State women’s basketball team will play five of its last seven games in Worthington Arena, beginning with Northern Arizona, Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

By: Tom Schulz

NORTHERN ARIZONA (6-16, 2-9) at MONTANA STATE (16-5, 9-2)
    Date:                     Feb. 9, 2017
    Tipoff: 7 p.m. (MST)
    Site:                      Worthington Arena (4,500) * Bozeman, MT
    Radio: My 103.5 FM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
    Live Video: WatchBigSky.com;
    Live Stats: bobcatstats.com

SOUTHERN UTAH (5-17, 0-11) at MONTANA STATE (16-5, 9-2)
    Date: Feb. 11, 2017
    Tipoff: 2 p.m. (MST)
    Site: Worthington Arena (4,500) * Bozeman, MT
    Radio: My 103.5 FM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
    Live Video: WatchBigSky.com;
    Live Stats: bobcatstats.com

NEXT UP: The Montana State women's basketball team will play five of its last seven games in Worthington Arena, beginning with Northern Arizona, Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. The Bobcats will conclude their home-stand on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. against Southern Utah. MSU's game vs. SUU will be the 3rd Annual PACK THE PLACE IN PINK contest with anyone wearing pink admitted for $5. A pre-game event for breast cancer patients and survivors will start at 1:15 p.m. Patients and survivors will also receive two free game tickets. For more information go to msubobcats.com.

ON A SERIES NOTE: Montana State is 42-21 all-time against Northern Arizona dating back to the 1976-77 season. MSU has won eleven of the last 12 meetings, including a season sweep, last winter. MSU is 14-5 all-time against Southern Utah.

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 18th out of 32 conferences in the RPI. This week's NCAA Nitty-Gritty team RPI has MSU ranked 65, followed by Northern Colorado 109, North Dakota 139, Idaho 141, Eastern Washington 143, Idaho State 190, Weber State 228, Portland State 253, Southern Utah 273, Sacramento State 278, Northern Arizona 296, and Montana 328.

BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Peyton Ferris helped MSU stage an impressive come-from-behind 75-69 overtime win over Montana on Saturday. Ferris posted her seventh 20+ scoring game of the season and her second double-double with a game-high 27 points. In addition, she matched her career-high with 12 rebounds. The Twin Bridges product had an outstanding all-around game adding a career-high five blocks, while dishing out three assists and notching two steals vs. the Lady Griz.

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona enters Thursday's game with a 6-16 overall mark and a 2-9 Big Sky ledger. The Lumberjacks will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak. NAU's last victory came on Jan. 19 as the 'Jacks defeated Eastern Washington 56-47 in Flagstaff. NAU's other Big Sky win was a 77-68 overtime decision at Southern Utah. Last weekend, NAU dropped a pair of games, losing to Idaho State, 64-51, and Weber State, 75-64, in the Walkup Skydome. On the season, three Lumberjacks average in double-digits led by Olivia Lucero 14.9, Rene Coggins 11.2 and Brittani Lusain 10.1 points per game. Under the boards, NAU is led by Kaleigh Paplow, who averages 6.3 rebounds per game. NAU is under the direction of first-year head coach Robyne Bostick.

TALE OF THE TAPE: MSU vs. NAU

MSU.................. Stat................. NAU
72.3................... PPG................. 68.3
41.0................... FG%................. 39.1
34.2.................. 3FG%................ 32.6
70.0................... FT%................. 75.5
43.8.................. REB/G................ 39.2
15.5.................. AST/G................ 14.5
7.6.................... STL/G.................. 6.4
3.0................... BLK/G.................. 1.0
16.3.................. TO/G................ 14.3

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 the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game. Ferris is second on the squad in rebounding at 7.2 per contest, which is tenth 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 24 points away from surpassing Liz Holz (86-89) for the 17th spot. Ferris, who was voted 2016-17 preseason Big Sky MVP, recorded her second double-double of the year with 27 points and 12 boards at Montana on Saturday. In Big Sky action, the Twin Bridges product has notched five games over 20 points and two games over the 30-point plateau. At UM on Saturday, she swatted a career-high five blocks. 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 five double-doubles on the season after posting 12 points and ten rebounds in MSU's overtime win at Montana. She recorded a career-high 26 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Jan. 19, connecting on eight-of-14 from the field. 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 40 3-pointers and is second shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc.

DISHING THE ROCK: Junior Hannah Caudill is averaging 4.5 assists per game, which ranks third in the Big Sky. Her +1.4 assist-turnover ratio is fifth in the league. The graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Washington posted a career-high 23 points at Eastern Washington on Jan. 5. 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 6.2 apg over the last five outings, broke into MSU's all-time career assists rankings three weeks ago and is currently eighth all-time with 316 assists. She is also seventh all-time in three-point field-goals made at 128 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 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is averaging 23.8 minutes per contest. Lai is third on the Bobcat team shooting 42 percent from the field. She is also fourth in scoring and rebounding.

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 in MSU's win at Missoula.

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 21 games and is averaging 3.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Braxton is tenth in the Big Sky in rebounding and eighth with 1.0 blocks per game. Squires has played in all 21 games and is averaging 6.5 points per game, which is sixth 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 14.0 minutes per game and is third on the team with 23 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 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. She posted her seventh double-digit scoring game with 12 points against Sacramento State. Smith is averaging 7.1 points per game in Big Sky play, while shooting 60.5 percent from the field. Against Cal Poly on Dec. 20, Smith had a season-high 10 boards.

BOZEMAN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION: After the 21 games, the Bobcats have connected on 155-of-453 from beyond the three-point arc. MSU is paced from long distance by Hannah Caudill with 47 triples. The Spokane product is followed by Riley Nordgaard 40, Oliana Squires 23, Delany Junkermier 17, Peyton Ferris 12 and Margreet Barhoum 9. MSU is shooting 34.2 percent from beyond 20-feet, 9-inches, which is the 3rd 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 123 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 three-point field goal defense (.278), rebounding offense (43.8), and defensive rebounds (30.0). Nationally, the Bobcats are ranked No. 7 in defensive rebounds per game; No. 12 in rebounds per game; No. 30 in 3-point field-goal percentage; No. 51 in rebound margin; No. 54 in field-goal percentage defense; and No. 76 in total rebounds.

TO CATCH A THIEF: MSU had logged 159 steals on the season. Eight Bobcat players have recorded ten or more steals, paced by Riley Nordgaard with 36. Nordgaard has made her presence felt on the defensive end having played in 18 games to date and averaging 7.8 rebounds. 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.