Miscues Costly as Cats Finish Season at Big Sky Conference Tournament

Tuesday, March 12

Boise, ID

2:30 p.m.

Montana State University

16-15 (11-9)

Portland State

23-7 (14-6)

Montana State

Portland State

Oliana Squires had a game-high 20 points against Portland State on Tuesday.

Photo by: Brooks Nuanez

Miscues Costly as Cats Finish Season at Big Sky Conference Tournament

3/12/2019 9:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

“I’m really proud of the team for how they came out and attacked from the start,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “I thought we moved the ball well and we were knocking down some shots. But, nonetheless, the season didn’t end as we imagined and we came up short with some of our goals. In the end, our turnovers and their free throws were the difference.”

By: Tom Schulz

BOISE, Idaho – Portland State cashed in on twenty-two Montana State turnovers and connected on 23-25 from the free throw line, en route to a 68-56 victory over the Bobcats on Tuesday afternoon in quarterfinal action at the 2019 Big Sky Conference Tournament in CenturyLink Arena.

Montana State (16-15) State dodged the miscue bug in the opening 20-minutes and held a 33-30 advantage at intermission despite committing 11 turnovers. The Bobcats opened the contest converting 8-of-11 from three-point range, and Oliana Squires' deep triple at the 5:45 mark of the second period gave MSU a 31-23 lead.

"I'm really proud of the team for how they came out and attacked from the start," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "I thought we moved the ball well and we were knocking down some shots. But, nonetheless, the season didn't end as we imagined and we came up short with some of our goals. In the end, our turnovers and their free throws were the difference."

MSU freshman Halle Wright parlayed an old-fashion three-point play into a 40-36 advantage at the 6:16 mark of the third quarter before Portland State (23-7) rattled of a 14-2 run to close out the frame. MSU committed five miscues during the Viking run.

"We didn't do a very good job of spacing in the second half and Portland State pushed its zone out and their length started disrupting what we wanted to do," Binford said. "They did a great job defensively. We'll have to learn from this."

The Vikings connected on 11-of-12 free throws in the final quarter to help put the game away.

Squires paced MSU with a game-high 20 points, which included a four-of-nine effort from long distance. Also in double-figures was Martha Kuderer with 12 points, all from beyond the arc. The Bobcats shot 45.5 percent from long distance on 10-22 shooting.

"I feel we didn't get our post play as involved as we needed," Binford said. "We weren't able to get the touches through the interior to get that floor balance."

MSU held a slim 37-36 advantage under the boards as Madeline Smith pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Portland State was led by Sidney Rielly with 18 points, including a 12-12 performance from the stripe.

Binford credited Portland State's consistency as another key to the contest. "Portland State, Idaho, Northern Colorado and Idaho State kind of distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. I think the key was consistency. We were up and down all season. It isn't that we didn't possess the same talent, because there were a lot of upsets during the season, it was just that they were consistent over a longer period of time."

Montana State played the last 10 games of the season without senior and Big Sky Newcomer of the Year Claire Lundberg. "We faced some adversity this season and I that we did a great job adapting to find success. While we're disappointed with the finish, we'll learn from it, and we look forward to the future."