Bobcat Women Push No. 11 Texas A&M to the Wire

Saturday, December 21

Guaynabo, P.R.

11:30 a.m.

Montana State University

(11/11) Texas A&M

Junior Tori Martell converts one of her two 3-pointers against Texas A&M.

Photo by: Jack Murrey

12/21/2019 6:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Montana State women’s basketball team gave No. 11 Texas A&M all they could handle before eventually falling 78-67 to the Aggies to close out the 2019 Coqui Classic at the Mario Morales Coliseo on Saturday afternoon.

By: Tom Schulz

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Montana State women's basketball team gave No. 11 Texas A&M all they could handle before eventually falling 78-67 to the Aggies to close out the 2019 Coqui Classic at the Mario Morales Coliseo on Saturday afternoon.

Montana State (4-5) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and Tori Martell's second three-pointer of the opening frame gave the Bobcats a 19-9 advantage, it's biggest of the contest. MSU led Texas A&M (11-1) 19-12 after the first 10-minutes.

"We couldn't ask for a better start," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "I thought we did a nice job on them defensively, and we were able to get the offense going knocking down some perimeter shots."

Following a pair of free throws by Fallyn Freije the Bobcats held a 25-16 advantage with seven-minutes, 53-seconds left in the second period. The Aggies rattled off a 10-1 run to even the score, but MSU pushed back as an Oliana Squires' layup with two-minutes, 41-seconds left gave the Cats a 31-26 lead. Texas A&M closed out the half on a 9-2 run to own a 35-33 cushion at intermission.

"We were able to get contributions from everyone and that created good scoring balance," Binford said. "We did a nice job on the boards and matched them rebound-for-rebound. Defensively, we were able to frustrate them a little, making them fight for every shot."

MSU grabbed the lead back at 38-36 to open the third quarter on a baseline jumper via Madeline Smith. Chennedy Carter jump-started the Aggie offense with a pair of charity tosses giving Texas A&M the lead which they built into a 57-48 cushion heading into the final period.

Carter converted an old-fashion three-point play at the seven-minute, 43-seconds mark of the final frame to give the Aggies its largest lead of the contest at 62-52. However, the Bobcats weren't ready to roll over reeling off an 8-0 run to pull to within 62-60 on a Blaire Braxton basket with six-minutes, 32-seconds left.

A Squires' layup with three-minutes, 31-seconds remaining kept the Bobcats within striking distance at 68-65, but Texas A&M closed out the game on a 10-2 run as MSU went scoreless in the final two-minutes, 11-seconds.

"I'm proud with how well we battled on both ends of the court," Binford said. "We knew we had a tough schedule and I think we have gained a lot of confidence and were able to figure some things out that will help us as we head into Big Sky Conference play."

Squires paced MSU with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Freije and Darian White added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Freije also finished with six rebounds and two assists, while White chipped in four rebounds and four assists.

All nine players seeing minutes scored, including a season-high nine points by Braxton. Martell and Martha Kuderer ended with eight and seven points, respectively.

For the game, MSU shot 43.3% from the field, including a red hot 53.3% in the first quarter. Texas A&M shot 49.2% overall, which included 66.7% in the third quarter. After being even under the boards at halftime with 22 rebounds, apiece, the Aggies finished with a 43-32 advantage.

Carter paced all scorers with 27 points, including 17 in the second half. She also posted eight rebounds and six assists.

MSU will open its Big Sky Conference season at Sacramento State on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 3 p.m. (MT).