NCAA Tourney Bound: Destination Seattle

Saturday, March 18

Seattle, WA

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Washington

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Bobcat women celebrate Big Sky title with Champ, Band & Cheer.

Photo by: MSU Sports Information

3/15/2017 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

MSU WBB NCAA FIRST ROUND NOTES (PDF)

Twenty-four years to the day, the Montana State women’s basketball team will make its second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and ironically, it will be at the University of Washington’s Alaska Airlines Arena. MSU’s first-round game against the Huskies is slated for Saturday, March 18 at 7 p.m. (MST). MSU’s last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was March 18, 1993 when the Huskies downed the Bobcats 80-51 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

By: Tom Schulz

MONTANA STATE (25-6, 15-3) at WASHINGTON (27-5, 15-3)
Date:                         March 18, 2017
    Tipoff:                 7:00 p.m. (MST)
    Site:                          Alaska Airlines Arena (10,000) * Seattle, WA
    Radio:                       1450 KMMS-AM; Play-by-Play with Jason Alvine
    Television:                 ESPN2 - Pam Ward (pbp); Gail Goestenkors (analyst)
    Live Stats:               www.gohuskies.com

NEXT UP: Twenty-four years to the day, the Montana State women's basketball team will make its second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and ironically, it will be at the University of Washington's Alaska Airlines Arena. MSU's first-round game against the Huskies is slated for Saturday, March 18 at 7 p.m. (MST). MSU's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was March 18, 1993 when the Huskies downed the Bobcats 80-51 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

ON A SERIES NOTE: Montana State trails Washington 12-1 in the all-time series between the former AIAW rivals dating back to the 1977-78 season. MSU's only win came during the 1978-79 season (79-71) in Bozeman. The most recent meeting between the two schools was Dec. 15, 2013 as the Huskies posted an 83-60 victory. Kelsey Plum posted a game-high 19 points for UW, while the Bobcats were paced by former All-Big Sky Conference performer Ashley Brumwell with 13 points. The last meeting in Bozeman took place on Nov. 16, 2001 as Washington escaped with a 73-65 overtime win.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Bobcats finished its home season with a perfect 13-0 mark. Its current 25-game home winning streak is fourth longest at the NCAA Division I level, behind UConn 64, Bucknell 28 and UCLA 27. The 25-game home win streak is a new school-record.

STATE OF THE LEAGUE: The Big Sky is currently ranked 20th out of 32 conferences in the RPI. This week's NCAA Nitty-Gritty team RPI has MSU ranked 65, followed by Northern Colorado 129, North Dakota 131, Eastern Washington 134, Idaho 150, Idaho State 153, Portland State 214, Weber State 239, Sacramento State 286, Southern Utah 291, Northern Arizona 295, and Montana 323.

BIG SKY TOURNEY CHAMPS: Montana State rode the back of its two seniors Peyton Ferris and Riley Nordgaard, while getting timely contributions from its underclassmen en route to its first Big Sky Conference Tournament title since 1993. In quarterfinal action, the Bobcats dispatched Weber State 65-53 behind the heroic effort of junior Hannah Caudill. Caudill, who missed the last two regular-season games with an illness, netted a career-high 24 points in the victory. The Cats defeated Eastern Washington 61-59 in semifinal play on an Annika Lai basket with three-seconds remaining. Ferris posted 16 points and 11 boards, while Nordgaard notched 11 points and 13 rebounds. MSU claimed the Big Sky title with a 62-56 win over Idaho State. Ferris notched 23 points, while Nordgaard added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

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 won the Big Sky scoring title at 18.8 ppg. Ferris is second on the squad in rebounding at 7.5 per contest, which is fifth in the league. Ferris joined MSU's 1,000-point club with a season-best 32 points at North Dakota. Currently, she is 12th on MSU's all-time scoring chart, and 14 points away from surpassing Marcia Topp (78-81) for 11th. In addition, Ferris became the 12th member of MSU's prestigious 1,000/500 club as she is 14th all-time with 589 rebounds. Ferris, who was voted 2016-17 preseason Big Sky MVP, recorded her fifth double-double of the year with 16 points and 11 boards in MSU's semifinal game vs. E. Washington. In Big Sky action, the Twin Bridges product has notched eight games over 20 points and two games over the 30-point plateau. At UM on Feb. 4, she swatted a career-high five blocks. Last year, Ferris finished eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage shooting at a 58% clip.

THE LIFE OF RILEY: Riley Nordgaard, the 2015-16 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, recently earned All-Big Sky Second-Team honors and was named All-Big Sky Tournament after averaging 9.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in Reno, Nevada. The Canby, Minn., product has ten double-doubles on the season after posting 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Big Sky championship game against Idaho State. She recorded a career-high 26 points in MSU's win over Sacramento State on Jan. 19, connecting on 8-14 from the field. In MSU's win over Portland State on Jan. 21, she connected on a career-high six 3-pointers. Nordgaard's notched a career-high 13 boards on four occasions this season. She is currently second on the team with 62 3-pointers and is second shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc.

DISHING THE ROCK: Junior Hannah Caudill is averaging 4.4 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the Big Sky. Her +1.5 assist-turnover ratio is fifth in the league. In addition, she chips in 10 points per contest. The graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, posted a career-high 24 points to lift MSU to a quarterfinal victory over Weber State, last Wednesday. It was a remarkable performance after missing the last two regular-season games with an illness. 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. She broke into MSU's all-time career assists rankings a month ago and is currently sixth all-time with 350 assists. She is also fourth all-time in three-point field-goals made at 150 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 matched a career-high 15 points in MSU's semifinal victory against Eastern Washington last Thursday, which included the winning basket with three-seconds remaining. Lai has eight double-figure scoring games on the season, after her break-out performance at the league tournament. In Montana State's 83-68 win at Weber State, she notched 13 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for her first-ever double-double. On the season, Lai is averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. She is averaging 22.5 minutes per contest. Lai is third on the Bobcat team shooting 45.9 percent from the field. She is also fourth in rebounding and fifth in scoring.

JUNK MAIL: Delany Junkermier has delivered ten double-figure scoring games this season, including a season-high 19 points in Montana State win over rival Montana on Feb. 25. Averaging 7.5 points per game, the Spokane product has averaged 8.6 points per contest in Big Sky action. The Mead High graduate averaged six points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists at the Big Sky Conference Tournament last week in Reno, Nevada.

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 2.6 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 29.3 percent from the field. Against Weber State last Wednesday, she tallied four points in three minutes of action.

FAB FRESH: All three Bobcat true-freshmen - Blaire Braxton, Oliana Squires and Madeline Smith - have made an impact this season. Braxton, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., has started all 31 games and is averaging 3.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. At Sacramento State on Feb. 18, she yanked down a season-best 14 rebounds. She is tenth in the Big Sky in rebounding and seventh in blocks. Braxton notched a career-high 10 points on Feb. 9 vs. No. Arizona. Squires has played in 28-of-31 games and is averaging 6.6 points per game, which is sixth best on the team. She posted a season-high 17 points in MSU's loss at Northern Colorado. She is averaging 14.3 minutes per game and is fourth on the team with 27 three-pointers. On. Jan. 7 against Idaho, Smith tallied a season-high 13 points. The product of Snohomish, Washington is averaging 13.7 minutes per game and is chipping in 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. She posted her eighth double-digit scoring game with 11 points at Sacramento State on Feb. 18. Smith is averaging 6.4 points and 3.8 boards per game in Big Sky play, while shooting 58 percent from the field. Had season-high 10 boards vs Cal Poly.

BOZEMAN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION: After the 31 games, the Bobcats have connected on 238-of-706 from beyond the three-point arc. MSU is paced from long distance by Hannah Caudill with 69 triples. The Spokane product is followed by Riley Nordgaard 62, Delany Junkermier 34, Oliana Squires 27, Peyton Ferris 20 and Margreet Barhoum 11. MSU is shooting 34.4 percent from beyond 20-feet, 9-inches, which is the third 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 133 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. MSU's 238 3-pointers this season is a new school-record. The old mark was set during the 2010-11 season.

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 (.365), three-point field goal defense (.273), rebounding offense (43.6), and defensive rebounds (30.2). Nationally, the Bobcats are ranked No. 5 in defensive rebounds per game; No. 9 in rebounds per game; No. 13 in 3-point field-goal percentage; No. 17 in total rebounds, No. 33 in field-goal percentage defense, and No. 51 in rebound margin.

THAT'S OFFENSIVE: On a national level, the Bobcats are ranked No. 36 in assists per game (15.8), No. 39 in 3-point field goals attempts (706) and 3-point field goals made (238), No. 42 in assists (491), No. 45 in 3-point field goals per game (7.7), No. 47 in scoring offense (72.5).

TO CATCH A THIEF: MSU had logged 209 steals on the season. Eight Bobcat players have recorded double-digit steals, paced by Riley Nordgaard with 50. Nordgaard has made her presence felt on the defensive end having played in 25 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.

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.