Friday, November 30
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Long Beach State
Junior Madeline Smith
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Host Long Beach State
11/29/2018 5:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Bobcat women’s basketball team returns to Worthington Arena for the first time in 24-days to face Long Beach State, Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena.
WHO: Long Beach State at Montana State
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 @ 7:05 p.m. (MT)
WHERE: Bozeman, MT - Worthington Arena (6,772)
RECORDS: MSU- 3-2, 0-0; LBS- 1-5, 0-0
SERIES: Tied 2-2
LAST MTG: 11/12/17 Mont. St. 62, @ Long Beach 51
NEXT UP: The Bobcat women's basketball team returns to Worthington Arena for the first time in 24-days to face Long Beach State, Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena. Montana State is coming off a 66-58 setback at Wyoming on Tuesday night. Long Beach State's last contest was a 70-63 victory over Idaho. The Vandals were the preseason pick by both coaches and media to win the Big Sky Conference this season. LBS's victory was also its first of the season, after opening the 2018-19 campaign 0-5.
ON A SERIES NOTE: The Bobcats and Long Beach State are 2-2 in its all-time series. The Bobcats won the last meeting, which was a 62-51 decision on Nov. 12, 2017 in California. Montana State was led in the victory by Hannah Caudill and Madeline Smith with 24 and 11 points, respectively. Blaire Braxton pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. The 49ers were led by Shanaijah Davison, who came off the bench to pour in 20 points. Montana State is 2-1 at Long Beach State and 0-1 in Bozeman. The 49ers defeated the Bobcats on Dec. 8, 2005 in Worthington Arena 83-66. The first game in the all-time series was in Long Beach on Dec. 1, 1979. The 49ers won the contest 101-66.
THAT WAS THE GAME THAT WAS:
Wyoming's Marta Gomez scored a game-high 27 points, including a back-breaking three-pointer with one-minute remaining to guide the Cowgirls to a 66-58 win over Montana State on Tuesday night in the Arena-Auditorium.
Trailing by five just seconds into the fourth quarter, Montana State (3-2) rattled off a 9-2 run to take a 50-48 lead with 5:51 remaining following a layup by Tori Martell. The two teams traded leads three times down the stretch. Blaire Braxton's layup with 1:32 left pulled the Bobcats to within 56-55. It would be the closest MSU would get to Wyoming (4-2) as Gomez' triple gave the Cowgirls the cushion it needed in the waning moments.
MSU overcame a seven-point halftime deficit shooting 60 percent from the field in the third frame. Montana State and Wyoming exchanged counter punches in the final three minutes of the quarter before a 3-pointer by Taylor Rusk gave UW a 44-41 advantage heading into the final ten-minutes.
"I thought we responded well after halftime, but Wyoming made the plays down the stretch they needed to," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford.
Bobcat miscues assisted Wyoming's effort as the Cowgirls converted 16 MSU turnovers into 26 points, while Montana State notched two points on 11 UW errors.
"We need to control our turnovers and share the ball more," Binford said. "Wyoming forces you to play into second and third side and we lacked patience to swing the ball. Too many unforced turnovers created too many extra possessions."
Claire Lundberg paced Montana State with a team-high 13 points. Oliana Squires added nine points, while Madeline Smith and Gabby Mocchi added eight, apiece. Smith guided the Bobcats under the glass with a team-best five rebounds.
PRESEASON WNIT: Montana State played in the preseason WNIT for the first time in its history. Along with MSU and MU, participating in this season's WNIT were Iowa State, Niagara, Northern Illinois, Yale, New Mexico, Texas State, Auburn, Nicholls State, Miami, Stephen F. Austin, Hartford, Morgan State, Northern Iowa and Delaware. The Bobcats fell at #19 Marquette 100-52 in Milwaukee on Nov. 9. MSU rebounded to win its consolation pod defeating Delaware 69-60 and Texas State 67-59. Marquette went on to defeat Northern Iowa 102-61, before falling to Miami 63-55 in the semifinals. Iowa State captured the 2018 WNIT title with a convincing 75-52 decision over Miami on Nov. 18.
MORE ON THE 49ers: After opening the season with five consecutive losses, Long Beach State posted its first victory of the season over preseason Big Sky Conference favorite Idaho 70-63 last Saturday. The 49ers were paced by Shanaijah Davison with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Justina King and Naomi Hunt added 19 and 12 points, respectively. Idaho's Mikayla Ferenz led the Vandals with a game-high 31 points. Long Beach State held the 'Splash Sisters' (Ferenz & Taylor Pierce) to seven-of-29 from the beyond the arc (24 percent). Last Friday, Northern Iowa handed the 49ers a 71-64 setback. Davison against guided Long Beach State with 20 points, while Hunt added 13 and Lauren Green 11. Jeff Cammon is in his second season at Long Beach State. His career record currently stands at 9-28. Last year, he led the 49ers to an 8-23 overall mark and a 6-10 ledger in Big West Conference action, good for sixth place.
LAUDING LUNDBERG: Transfer Claire Lundberg has already made an impact on the court for the Bobcat women's basketball program. Lundberg was named last week's Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27 points and six rebounds per game as MSU knocked-off Delaware and Texas State in WNIT action. For the two games, the native of Andover, Minn., shot 76.2 percent from the field, 83.3 percent from beyond the arc; and was 17-17 at the charity stripe. In addition, she registered three steals. The Anoka High School product is third in the Big Sky averaging 20.4 points per contest. She is second in the league in field-goal percentage (56.7) and free throw percent (89.3). Lundberg had connected on her first 22 free throw attempts of the season, before missing her first FT at Wyoming. It was just three makes shy of matching former Bobcat standout Rebecca Mercer's school-record of 25 straight from Dec. 21, 2007 - Jan. 31, 2008. Against Texas State on Nov. 17, Lundberg didn't miss a shot in 30 minutes of action, connecting on eight-of-eight from the field; four-of-four from long distance; and six-of-six from the line. The 6-1 senior forward from Seton Hall posted a season-best 28 points in Montana State's 69-60 win over Delaware on Nov. 16. On Tuesday at Wyoming, Lundberg posted 13 points and four rebounds.
KUDERER'S KUDOS: Junior Martha Kuderer, who also sat out last season after transferring from Seton Hall, had an outstanding couple of games against Delaware and Texas State to close out MSU's play in the WNIT. Kuderer, a 5-11 forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 62.5 percent from the field against the Blue Hens and Bobcats. She had her best outing against Texas State with a season-high 21 points, connecting on 8-12 from the floor. In MSU's win over Delaware, Kuderer posted 17 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double as a Bobcat. She is currently second on the squad pulling down 5.6 boards per contest.
HOLY MOLY, OLI: Oliana Squires is averaging 10.4 points per game through the first five games of the season. The Colorado Springs, Colo., product notched a season-high 14 points at Marquette. Against the No. 19-ranked team in the nation, Squires nailed four 3-pointers. She has been in double-digit scoring in three of MSU's five games to date. Squires is currently ranked ninth in the Big Sky Conference and 211th in the nation averaging 2.00 three-point makes per game.
TORI, TORI, TORI: Montana State sophomore sharp-shooter Tori Martell is still looking for a consistent stroke this season. The Somerset, Wis., native is just seven-of-36 from long distance. Last season, Martell connected on 36 three-pointers, including 19 in the last eight games of the season. She is currently averaging 7.2 points per game. Martel registered a season-high nine points in MSU's season-opening win over Carroll College on Nov. 6.
BARDS OF THE BLOCK: Juniors Madeline Smith and Blaire Braxton have manned the blocks for the Bobcats the past two seasons. The duo has also swapped starting time at the five and each average over 17 minutes or more per contest. Braxton, a product of Highlands Ranch, Colo., is first on the team hauling down 6.0 rebounds per game, while Smith, from Snohomish, Wash., is third averaging 5.2 rebounds per contest. Braxton's best outing of the season came against #19 Marquette as she pulled down a team-best ten rebounds, while chipping in seven points. Smith registered a season-high 10 points against Carroll College and had seven rebounds at #19 Marquette.
FEET TO THE FIRE: Freshmen Gabby Mocchi and Kamden Hilborn scored their first points as Bobcats against Texas State on Nov. 17, both coming from the free throw line. Mocchi went two-of-two at the line, while Hilborn was one-of-two. Mocchi, from Champlin, Minn., recorded a season-high eight points at Wyoming, including a pair of 3-pointers. Hilborn, from Clancy and a Helena High product, is averaging 12.6 minutes per contest and is averaging 1.4 assists, 1.0 rebounds and 0.8 steal per game.
THROWING SHAIDE: Junior Madisyn Shaide had a career night against one of the best squads in the nation this season. Against No. 19 Marquette, the Missoula native went two-of-four from beyond the arc for a career-high six points. The Big Sky High School graduate also added an assist.
NEARING A MILESTONE: 14th-year head coach Tricia Binford will be coaching her 399th game at the helm of the Montana State women's basketball program on Friday night - just two shy of the magic 400 game mark. She is first at Montana State in games coached (398) and victories (214).
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM: Marquette, who was Montana State's opening round opponent in the WNIT, has had to move their last two home games after a car crashed into the Al McGuire Center ending up on the floor. The crash happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 24. MSU played the Golden Eagles on Nov. 9 with no vehicular troubles.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Cats saw the nation's second longest home court win streak snapped against Portland State on Jan. 11, 2018. The loss broke MSU's 31-game home streak, which was second to national power UConn (78). Before the loss to PSU, Montana State's last defeat in Worthington Arena was a 62-49 decision to San Diego on Nov. 24, 2015. MSU has won 36 of its last 38 games in The Brick. On another note, the Cats sold out crowd of 6,772 against Carroll College on Nov. 6, puts MSU fifth in the nation for attendance average, just behind Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Iowa State and South Carolina.
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 @ 7:05 p.m. (MT)
WHERE: Bozeman, MT - Worthington Arena (6,772)
RECORDS: MSU- 3-2, 0-0; LBS- 1-5, 0-0
SERIES: Tied 2-2
LAST MTG: 11/12/17 Mont. St. 62, @ Long Beach 51
NEXT UP: The Bobcat women's basketball team returns to Worthington Arena for the first time in 24-days to face Long Beach State, Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena. Montana State is coming off a 66-58 setback at Wyoming on Tuesday night. Long Beach State's last contest was a 70-63 victory over Idaho. The Vandals were the preseason pick by both coaches and media to win the Big Sky Conference this season. LBS's victory was also its first of the season, after opening the 2018-19 campaign 0-5.
ON A SERIES NOTE: The Bobcats and Long Beach State are 2-2 in its all-time series. The Bobcats won the last meeting, which was a 62-51 decision on Nov. 12, 2017 in California. Montana State was led in the victory by Hannah Caudill and Madeline Smith with 24 and 11 points, respectively. Blaire Braxton pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. The 49ers were led by Shanaijah Davison, who came off the bench to pour in 20 points. Montana State is 2-1 at Long Beach State and 0-1 in Bozeman. The 49ers defeated the Bobcats on Dec. 8, 2005 in Worthington Arena 83-66. The first game in the all-time series was in Long Beach on Dec. 1, 1979. The 49ers won the contest 101-66.
THAT WAS THE GAME THAT WAS:
Wyoming's Marta Gomez scored a game-high 27 points, including a back-breaking three-pointer with one-minute remaining to guide the Cowgirls to a 66-58 win over Montana State on Tuesday night in the Arena-Auditorium.
Trailing by five just seconds into the fourth quarter, Montana State (3-2) rattled off a 9-2 run to take a 50-48 lead with 5:51 remaining following a layup by Tori Martell. The two teams traded leads three times down the stretch. Blaire Braxton's layup with 1:32 left pulled the Bobcats to within 56-55. It would be the closest MSU would get to Wyoming (4-2) as Gomez' triple gave the Cowgirls the cushion it needed in the waning moments.
MSU overcame a seven-point halftime deficit shooting 60 percent from the field in the third frame. Montana State and Wyoming exchanged counter punches in the final three minutes of the quarter before a 3-pointer by Taylor Rusk gave UW a 44-41 advantage heading into the final ten-minutes.
"I thought we responded well after halftime, but Wyoming made the plays down the stretch they needed to," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford.
Bobcat miscues assisted Wyoming's effort as the Cowgirls converted 16 MSU turnovers into 26 points, while Montana State notched two points on 11 UW errors.
"We need to control our turnovers and share the ball more," Binford said. "Wyoming forces you to play into second and third side and we lacked patience to swing the ball. Too many unforced turnovers created too many extra possessions."
Claire Lundberg paced Montana State with a team-high 13 points. Oliana Squires added nine points, while Madeline Smith and Gabby Mocchi added eight, apiece. Smith guided the Bobcats under the glass with a team-best five rebounds.
PRESEASON WNIT: Montana State played in the preseason WNIT for the first time in its history. Along with MSU and MU, participating in this season's WNIT were Iowa State, Niagara, Northern Illinois, Yale, New Mexico, Texas State, Auburn, Nicholls State, Miami, Stephen F. Austin, Hartford, Morgan State, Northern Iowa and Delaware. The Bobcats fell at #19 Marquette 100-52 in Milwaukee on Nov. 9. MSU rebounded to win its consolation pod defeating Delaware 69-60 and Texas State 67-59. Marquette went on to defeat Northern Iowa 102-61, before falling to Miami 63-55 in the semifinals. Iowa State captured the 2018 WNIT title with a convincing 75-52 decision over Miami on Nov. 18.
MORE ON THE 49ers: After opening the season with five consecutive losses, Long Beach State posted its first victory of the season over preseason Big Sky Conference favorite Idaho 70-63 last Saturday. The 49ers were paced by Shanaijah Davison with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Justina King and Naomi Hunt added 19 and 12 points, respectively. Idaho's Mikayla Ferenz led the Vandals with a game-high 31 points. Long Beach State held the 'Splash Sisters' (Ferenz & Taylor Pierce) to seven-of-29 from the beyond the arc (24 percent). Last Friday, Northern Iowa handed the 49ers a 71-64 setback. Davison against guided Long Beach State with 20 points, while Hunt added 13 and Lauren Green 11. Jeff Cammon is in his second season at Long Beach State. His career record currently stands at 9-28. Last year, he led the 49ers to an 8-23 overall mark and a 6-10 ledger in Big West Conference action, good for sixth place.
LAUDING LUNDBERG: Transfer Claire Lundberg has already made an impact on the court for the Bobcat women's basketball program. Lundberg was named last week's Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27 points and six rebounds per game as MSU knocked-off Delaware and Texas State in WNIT action. For the two games, the native of Andover, Minn., shot 76.2 percent from the field, 83.3 percent from beyond the arc; and was 17-17 at the charity stripe. In addition, she registered three steals. The Anoka High School product is third in the Big Sky averaging 20.4 points per contest. She is second in the league in field-goal percentage (56.7) and free throw percent (89.3). Lundberg had connected on her first 22 free throw attempts of the season, before missing her first FT at Wyoming. It was just three makes shy of matching former Bobcat standout Rebecca Mercer's school-record of 25 straight from Dec. 21, 2007 - Jan. 31, 2008. Against Texas State on Nov. 17, Lundberg didn't miss a shot in 30 minutes of action, connecting on eight-of-eight from the field; four-of-four from long distance; and six-of-six from the line. The 6-1 senior forward from Seton Hall posted a season-best 28 points in Montana State's 69-60 win over Delaware on Nov. 16. On Tuesday at Wyoming, Lundberg posted 13 points and four rebounds.
KUDERER'S KUDOS: Junior Martha Kuderer, who also sat out last season after transferring from Seton Hall, had an outstanding couple of games against Delaware and Texas State to close out MSU's play in the WNIT. Kuderer, a 5-11 forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 62.5 percent from the field against the Blue Hens and Bobcats. She had her best outing against Texas State with a season-high 21 points, connecting on 8-12 from the floor. In MSU's win over Delaware, Kuderer posted 17 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double as a Bobcat. She is currently second on the squad pulling down 5.6 boards per contest.
HOLY MOLY, OLI: Oliana Squires is averaging 10.4 points per game through the first five games of the season. The Colorado Springs, Colo., product notched a season-high 14 points at Marquette. Against the No. 19-ranked team in the nation, Squires nailed four 3-pointers. She has been in double-digit scoring in three of MSU's five games to date. Squires is currently ranked ninth in the Big Sky Conference and 211th in the nation averaging 2.00 three-point makes per game.
TORI, TORI, TORI: Montana State sophomore sharp-shooter Tori Martell is still looking for a consistent stroke this season. The Somerset, Wis., native is just seven-of-36 from long distance. Last season, Martell connected on 36 three-pointers, including 19 in the last eight games of the season. She is currently averaging 7.2 points per game. Martel registered a season-high nine points in MSU's season-opening win over Carroll College on Nov. 6.
BARDS OF THE BLOCK: Juniors Madeline Smith and Blaire Braxton have manned the blocks for the Bobcats the past two seasons. The duo has also swapped starting time at the five and each average over 17 minutes or more per contest. Braxton, a product of Highlands Ranch, Colo., is first on the team hauling down 6.0 rebounds per game, while Smith, from Snohomish, Wash., is third averaging 5.2 rebounds per contest. Braxton's best outing of the season came against #19 Marquette as she pulled down a team-best ten rebounds, while chipping in seven points. Smith registered a season-high 10 points against Carroll College and had seven rebounds at #19 Marquette.
FEET TO THE FIRE: Freshmen Gabby Mocchi and Kamden Hilborn scored their first points as Bobcats against Texas State on Nov. 17, both coming from the free throw line. Mocchi went two-of-two at the line, while Hilborn was one-of-two. Mocchi, from Champlin, Minn., recorded a season-high eight points at Wyoming, including a pair of 3-pointers. Hilborn, from Clancy and a Helena High product, is averaging 12.6 minutes per contest and is averaging 1.4 assists, 1.0 rebounds and 0.8 steal per game.
THROWING SHAIDE: Junior Madisyn Shaide had a career night against one of the best squads in the nation this season. Against No. 19 Marquette, the Missoula native went two-of-four from beyond the arc for a career-high six points. The Big Sky High School graduate also added an assist.
NEARING A MILESTONE: 14th-year head coach Tricia Binford will be coaching her 399th game at the helm of the Montana State women's basketball program on Friday night - just two shy of the magic 400 game mark. She is first at Montana State in games coached (398) and victories (214).
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM: Marquette, who was Montana State's opening round opponent in the WNIT, has had to move their last two home games after a car crashed into the Al McGuire Center ending up on the floor. The crash happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 24. MSU played the Golden Eagles on Nov. 9 with no vehicular troubles.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Cats saw the nation's second longest home court win streak snapped against Portland State on Jan. 11, 2018. The loss broke MSU's 31-game home streak, which was second to national power UConn (78). Before the loss to PSU, Montana State's last defeat in Worthington Arena was a 62-49 decision to San Diego on Nov. 24, 2015. MSU has won 36 of its last 38 games in The Brick. On another note, the Cats sold out crowd of 6,772 against Carroll College on Nov. 6, puts MSU fifth in the nation for attendance average, just behind Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Iowa State and South Carolina.
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