How Sweep It Is: Cats have all the Answers in Win over Lady Griz

Saturday, February 23

Missoula, MT

2 p.m.

Montana State University

14-12, 9-7BSC

Montana

12-12, 7-8BSC

Montana State

Montana

Tori Martell drives past Montana's Gabi Harrington on Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena.

Photo by: Todd Goodrich

How Sweep It Is: Cats have all the Answers in Win over Lady Griz

2/23/2019 9:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The victory was MSU’s seventh win over the Lady Griz in the last nine meetings, and over the past ten games at Dahlberg Arena, the two rivals are even at 5-5.

By: Tom Schulz

MISSOULA, Mont. – Montana State got out to the start it wanted and held off a late fourth quarter run by Montana to post a 75-71 victory over the Lady Griz on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,847 raucous UM fans in Dahlberg Arena.

Montana State (14-12, 9-7) opened the first period connecting on five-of-10 three-pointers with Ashley Van Sickle's triple at the buzzer giving MSU a 26-21 lead after the first ten minutes. Seven different Bobcats scored in the opening stanza as Montana State shot 53.3 percent from the field.

"Everyone stepped-up," said MSU junior guard Oliana Squires. "We have a really deep bench and everyone is capable of stepping up in certain moments. We used everyone and in that moment people were able to do their job."

MSU built its largest lead of the first half at 36-29 on a rare Madeline Smith three-pointer at the 5:24 mark. It was Smiths' first triple of the season. Montana (12-12, 7-8) finished out the second quarter on an 8-2 run to pull to within 38-37 at intermission.

"I thought it was a lot of fun," Squires said in reference to the opening quarter. "We went on our runs, and they went on theirs, but I think we knocked down some pretty good shots."

Wary of its third-quarter implosion during last season's game in Missoula, Squires went to work scoring seven points in the frame, including a five-of-five effort at the free throw line. MSU committed just one turnover in the period, building a 10-point lead with two-seconds remaining following a pair of Squires' charity tosses.

Montana's McKenzie Johnston closed out the quarter with a 60-foot heave to get the Lady Griz to within seven-points and fire-up the Montana crowd.

"I thought the crowd noise really started to become a major factor, but we were able to regroup every time, even after (Johnston's) shot," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "That was a big shot, but I thought our kids responded to that really well. It took some maturity to be able to handle things like that and respond, too."

MSU's Halle Wright quickly quieted the UM crowd with a jumper 28-seconds into the final frame as the Bobcats fended off a change in momentum. Montana made another run at the lead but a Squires triple followed by a Blaire Braxton layup on a feed from Squires pushed a one-point lead back to six with 3:17 remaining.

The Lady Griz used one final effort to pull to within 72-71 on a pair of Johnston free throws with 28-seconds remaining. Forced to foul, the Lady Griz sent Squires to the line with 24-seconds left. The product of Colorado Springs went one-of-two to give the Cats a two-point advantage.

In the final 13-seconds, Johnston had two shots to even the score, but Braxton pulled down a huge rebound on the second miss and got the outlet pass to Wright who was immediately fouled. The freshman from Aumsville, Ore., put the game away converting two free throws with 1.7-seconds left to secure the Bobcat sweep.

"I thought we did a great job understanding the game plan, staying together and knowing that there were going to be runs," Binford said.

Squires, who led MSU with 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds in the first meeting with Montana, finished with a team-high 18 points, including an 11-of-12 effort from the free throw line. She also added six assists and three rebounds.

All eight Bobcats that played scored. Also posting double-figures for MSU were Tori Martell and Wright with 12 and ten points, respectively. Martell's points all came from beyond the three-point line.
Montana held a narrow 36-33 advantage under the boards. MSU was led under the glass by Martha Kuderer and Braxton with seven and six rebounds, respectively.

For the game, MSU shot 39 percent from the field and connected on 19-21 attempts at the line. The Bobcats committed just nine turnovers, while dishing out 15 assists.

"Our team is really good at free throws," Binford said. "Particularly, down the stretch. I think it's one of the strengths of the team. I'm really confident in their play and ability to do what needs to be done."

The victory was MSU's seventh win over the Lady Griz in the last nine meetings, and over the past ten games at Dahlberg Arena, the two rivals are even at 5-5.
Johnston paced Montana with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Bobcats, who used eight players to Montana's nine on Saturday, get a much needed break next week. MSU plays its last four games in an eight-day span beginning on Saturday, March 2 at Northern Arizona.

The Bobcats are the only Big Sky Conference school that plays three stretches of four games in eight days. Six teams have two such stretches, while Northern Colorado and Sacramento State have one, and Portland State, none.