Bobcats Begin Final Home-Stand With Sacramento State, Thursday Night

Thursday, March 7

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Sacramento State

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

Bobcats Begin Final Home-Stand With Sacramento State, Thursday Night

3/6/2019 5:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

WBB NOTES

The Bobcats will play its third of four games in its current eight day stretch drive to end the season on Thursday, March 7 when it hosts Sacramento State at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena.

By: Tom Schulz

WHO:                   Sacramento State at Montana State
WHEN:                 Thursday, March 7, 2019 @ 7 p.m. (MT)
WHERE:               Bozeman, MT - Worthington Arena (6,772)
RECORDS:            MSU- 15-13, 10-8, Sac State- 10-16, 6-12
SERIES:                 Montana State 33-12
LAST MTG:          Jan. 5, 2019 - Montana St., 69, SAC 53
VIDEO:                 Pluto TV ch. 236; WatchBigSky.com
RADIO:                 My 103.5 FM with Jason Alvine on play-by-play

NEXT UP: The Bobcats will play its third of four games in its current eight day stretch drive to end the season on Thursday, March 7 when it hosts Sacramento State at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena. Montana State will close out the regular-season hosting Portland State on Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m.

THE STRETCH RUN: The Bobcats are the only Big Sky school that plays three stretches of four games in eight days. Six teams have two such stretches, while No. Colorado and Sacramento State have one, and Portland State, none.

ON A SERIES NOTE: Montana State leads its all-time series with Sacramento State 33-12 dating back to Jan. 24, 1997- a 70-51 Bobcat victory in Worthington Arena. MSU defeated Sacramento State 69-53 in The Nest on Jan. 5, 2019 as Claire Lundberg paced the Cats with 25 points, while Martha Kuderer and Oliana Squires added 19 and 15, respectively. The Hornets were led in the loss by Hannah Friend with 17 points and nine rebounds. Montana State has captured eight of the last ten meetings, with the last Hornet victory in Bozeman, 69-65, coming on Dec. 20, 2012.

THAT WAS THE GAME THAT WAS:
       Montana State's Madeline Smith posted a career-high 27 points as MSU's dominance in the paint paid dividends in a 70-55 victory over Southern Utah on Monday night in America First Events Center.
    The junior from Snohomish, Wash., connected on 12-20 from the field, including a seven-of-12 effort and 17 points in the first half. Smith also finished with six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
    "I loved how we came out attacking the paint and following the defensive game plan," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "Madeline's performance was incredible, and the guards really distributed the ball. It's the best teamwork we've shown in a long time."
    Montana State (15-13, 10-8) out-scored Southern Utah (7-21, 4-15) 14-6 in the first quarter, all coming from its post players, as Smith poured in eight points, while Blaire Braxton came off the bench for six.
    The Thunderbirds whittled the lead down to four points at the 1:32 mark of the second period, but the Bobcats closed out the frame on a 5-0 run to take a 31-22 lead into intermission.
    MSU disbursed its scoring in the third quarter as four Bobcats – Smith, Tori Martell, Oliana Squires and Gabby Mocchi- all produced six points to push the Bobcat advantage to 22-points heading into the fourth stanza.
    The Bobcats built its largest lead at 62-38 on a Smith layup with 8:50 left and cruised to the victory.
    "It was a total team effort," Binford said. "We were attack-minded, and I thought we did a fantastic job on the glass."
    Montana State registered 42 points in the paint, its highest total of the season. The Bobcats out-rebounds Southern Utah 45-26 and were paced under the boards by Martha Kuderer with a game-high eight rebounds.
    Also hitting double-digits for MSU was Braxton with 10 points on five-of-nine from the field. Squires finished with a solid stat line matching a career-high nine assists to go along with eight points, three rebounds and a steal.
    SUU was led by Breanu Reid with 21 points and five assists.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS: What we know: Idaho, Northern Colorado, Portland State and Idaho State have received first-round byes and will not have to play on Monday, March 11, in Boise. What we do not know: who will earn the final No. 5 seed? We do know that it will be either Montana State or Eastern Washington. If MSU sweeps this week they get the No. 5 seed and play on Tuesday, March 12 against the No. 4 seed at 2:30 p.m. If MSU and EWU both split this weekend, MSU is the No. 5. But if EWU sweeps and MSU splits several tiebreaking scenarios come into effect and favor EWU.

MORE ON THE HORNETS: Sacramento State enters Thursday's game 10-16 overall and 6-12 in Big Sky action. The Hornets will look to snap a three-game losing streak as its last win at Weber State came on Feb. 20. Sac State is paced by Hannah Friend, who averaged 19.3 ppg, and Kennedy Nicholas at 13.7 ppg and 11.2 rpg.

HOLY MOLY, OLI: Oliana Squires is averaging 10.9 points per game. The Colorado Springs, Colo., product notched a season and career-high 21 points in MSU's win over Northern Arizona on Dec. 31. In the season-opener against No. 19-ranked Marquette, Squires nailed four 3-pointers. She has been in double-digit scoring in 18 of MSU's 28 games. Squires nearly pulled off a triple double at Sacramento State on Jan.5 with 13 points, a career-high ten rebounds and seven assists. In Montana State's win over Montana on Feb. 2, she had an outstanding performance with a game-high 20 points on eight-of-16 from the field, including a four-of-eight from long distance. Squires posted another solid day in MSU's win in Missoula on Feb. 23 with 18 points, including an 11-12 effort from the free throw line. Last weekend, she averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.

KUDERER'S KUDOS: Martha Kuderer, who sat out last season after transferring from Seton Hall, is averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. She had her best Big Sky outing recording 19 points and six rebounds in MSU's win at Sacramento State. Her best weekend of the season came against Delaware and Texas State in the WNIT when she averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds. Kuderer had a season-high 21 points against Texas State. On the season, she has been in double-digit scoring on 12 occasions. Kuderer recorded 16 points in MSU's loss at Northern Arizona last Saturday. Against Southern Utah on Monday, she pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

BOUNDING WITH BLAIRE: Blaire Braxton pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds in Montana State's win over Eastern Washington on Feb.7 in Cheney. The thirteen boards gave Braxton 507 for her career. Against EWU, she became just the 24th member of MSU's 500-rebound club. Her current 533 rebounds are currently 18th all-time at Montana State. Braxton leads the Bobcats in rebounding averaging 5.8 per game. Offensively, she is shooting 56.8 percent from the field, which is second on the team. Her 6.9 points per game average is up 3.2 per contest from last winter. Braxton recorded a career-high 18 points in MSU's loss to Idaho on Jan. 10. For the game, she connected on seven-of-11 from the field. On the season, she has been in double-digit scoring in seven games. Braxton has notched 94 career blocks, which is seventh all-time at MSU. She had 10 points and six rebounds in MSU's win at Southern Utah on Monday.

MAD ABOUT YOU: Madeline Smith is averaging 9.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The product of Snohomish, Wash., registered a career-high 27 points in MSU's win at Southern Utah on Monday night. For the game, Smith connected on 12-20 from the field and was 3-4 from the line. She has been in double-figure scoring on 12 occasions this winter, including two games with 20 or more points. In her last five games Smith has averaged 16.4 points per game. Against Montana on Feb. 23, she connected on her first 3-pointer of the season, giving her two triples in her three-year career. Smith is 13 rebounds shy of becoming the 25th Bobcat to reach the 500-rebound club.

BARDS OF THE BLOCK: Juniors Madeline Smith and Blaire Braxton have manned the blocks for the Bobcats the past three seasons. The duo has swapped starting time at the five and each average just around 20 minutes per contest. On the season, the duo has combined to shoot an impressive 57.8 percent (181-313) from the floor. Combined, they have scored 446 points and pulled down 303 rebounds on the season.

THE WRIGHT STUFF: Halle Wright received her first start at TCU on Dec. 8. The Aumsville, Ore., product missed three games with an injury, but has started 21 straight since coming back. She had one of her best game of the season against Eastern Washington on Jan. 19, recording 13 points, including nine points in the overtime period. Wright also added a season-high eight assists and seven rebounds. She is averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in Big Sky play. Wright registered 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in MSU's win over Montana on Feb. 23, including a pair of free throws to ice the game with 1.7 seconds remaining.

TORI, TORI, TORI: Tori Martell has connected on 42 three-pointers this season. The Somerset, Wis., native connected on 36 three-pointers, including 19 in the last eight games of the season, last winter. She is currently averaging 8.0 points per game in Big Sky play. Martell found her stroke from outside in Montana State's win at Northern Colorado on Jan. 14 scoring a career-high 19 points, which included a 5-of-8 performance from beyond the three-point line. Against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Martell posted 11 points and six rebounds. She tallied a career-high five assists at SUU on Monday.

FEET TO THE FIRE: Freshman Gabby Mocchi has played in all 28 games and is averaging 3.9 ppg in Big Sky play. She matched a career-high nine points in MSU's win at Montana. Freshman Kamden Hilborn has played 24 games and has in dished out 31 assists, while adding 13 steals. The Helena High product is averaging 11 minutes per game. Hilborn had a season-best eight points at Portland State on Jan. 3. Brynley Fitzgerald has played in 13 games and notched a season-best six points against Northern Colorado on Feb. 4.

THROWING SHAIDE: Senior Madisyn Shaide has played in 15 games. She had a career night against No. 19 Marquette on Nov. 9 scoring six points on two 3-pointers.

LAUDING LUNDBERG: Seton Hall transfer Claire Lundberg is out for the season after tearing her ACL against Northern Colorado on Feb. 4. The Anoka High School product was sixth in the Big Sky averaging 17.0 points per game. She was third in free throw percentage (86.8), 3-point field-goal percentage (39.5), points (356) and field-goals made (123), fourth in 3-point field-goals made (51) and 3-point field-goals per game (2.43), fifth in field-goals attempted (284) and field-goal percentage (43.3) and 3-point field-goals attempted (129) at the time of the injury. Lundberg had been in double-digit scoring in 18 of 21 games, including seven games with 20 points or more. She posted a season-high 28 points in MSU's win over Delaware. Lundberg was Big Sky Player of the Week for Nov. 20 after averaging 27 points and six rebounds as MSU beat Delaware and Texas State in WNIT action. Lundberg was perfect against Texas State hitting eight-of-eight from the field, four-of-four from long distance and six-of-six from the line.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Bobcats 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. Since losing to San Diego on Nov. 11, 2015, Montana State has won 42 of 50 games in The Brick. The Bobcats are averaging 2,093 fans per game, which includes a sold-out crowd of 6,772 against Carroll College on Nov. 6. MSU is ranked 71st in the nation in attendance.