Cats Sweep Lady Griz

Saturday, January 30

Missoula, Mont.

12 p.m.

Montana State University

9-5,6-2Big Sky

Montana

7-6,4-4Big Sky

Montana St.

Montana

Freshman Leia Beattie (l) helped the Bobcats sweep the Lady Griz for the third consecutive season.

Photo by: Garrett Becker

1/30/2021 3:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

It was the sixth straight win over the Lady Griz and marked a season sweep over UM for the third consecutive year.

By: Tom Schulz

A Darian White three-pointer 32-seconds into the game gave Montana State a lead it would never relinquish en route to a 70-60 decision over Montana on Saturday afternoon in Dahlberg Arena. It was the sixth straight win over the Lady Griz and marked a season sweep over UM for the third consecutive year.

"Credit Montana for bouncing back from Thursday night," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford, referring to the Bobcats 24-point win over the Lady Griz in Worthington Arena. "They did a great job with their post touches and making the adjustments that put pressure on us defensively.

"I'm also proud of our kids for finding a way to win," Binford added. "It was a grind. We faced some adversity and we got huge minutes from our bench. The strength of our team is our depth."

Montana State (9-5, 6-2) jumped out early showing no signs of rivalry jitters taking a 13-2 lead on a Tori Martell triple. MSU limited Montana (7-6, 4-4) to 27.3% shooting in the opening 10-minutes to hold a 19-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Montana closed to within six points early in the second frame, before Taylor Janssen came off the Bobcat bench for six consecutive points to push the MSU margin to 25-15. The Lady Griz cut its deficit to five points, but Janssen answered with another three-pointer to give the Bobcats an eight-point lead. Janssen, a 6-3 forward from Rosemount, Minn., converted a layup with 29-seconds left in the half and MSU entered intermission with a 39-30 lead. Janssen's 11-point outburst in the second stanza marked the most points scored in a quarter by a Bobcat this season.

"Taylor and Skye (Lindsay) gave us some big-time minutes," Binford said. "They had such a presence when they were in the game. They helped us keep a manageable gap. The reason I love this team is because they are selfless and really celebrate each other- everyone contributing in their own way."

The Lady Griz whittled the Bobcat lead down to 46-42 with 2-minutes, 33-seconds left in the third period, but again, MSU answered with two White free throws and an old-fashion three-point play by Gabby Mocchi to hold a nine-point cushion going into the final frame.

Montana battled back to within five points with just under five-minutes left in the contest, but a Lindsay offensive rebound off a missed three-point attempt by Katelynn Limardo, and a quick kickout to Ashley Van Sickle resulted in a banked-in three-pointer by the Bobcat junior and MSU's lead was back to eight points.

"It wasn't easy," Binford said. "We had to grind it out. On just about every possession where we needed to answer we hit the clutch play, and more often than naught, it was setup by a hustle play, like Skye getting the O-board and finding Ashley open for a three-pointer."

UM had one last charge pulling within 58-53 with a minute left, but MSU went 7-of-8 from the line, including a 6-of-6 effort from White, to secure the win.

White led the Bobcats with a team-high 19 points, while Janssen and Martell also hit double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Montana State held a 38-31 edge under the boards, including 17 offensive rebounds. MSU was paced under the glass by Limardo, Martell and Mocchi with five, apiece.

Montana was led by Carmen Gfeller with a game-high 22 points, including a 10-of-11 effort from the line.

The Bobcats host Weber State on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m., in Worthington Arena.