Bench Paces Bobcats to 99-66 Win Over Idaho

Saturday, January 10

BOZEMAN

2 p.m.

Montana State University

11-4,4-0Big Sky

Idaho

11-5,2-1Big Sky

Idaho

Montana St.

Brianne Bailey

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

1/10/2026 5:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Bobcats jump out to fast start, never look back

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Mont. (Jan. 10, 2026) – About three minutes into Montana State's 99-66 win over Idaho in Worthington Arena, Bobcat women's basketball coach Tricia Binford unleashed her "secret weapon," she said.

"And the secret weapon was our bench."

Led by Brianne Bailey's 18 points and Teagan Erickson's 16, the Cats received 47 points from the bench and outscored Idaho 47-28. Bobcat reserves also grabbed 15 of the team's 40 rebounds.

"When our bench comes through and is consistent at who they are, they don't need to be Taylee Chirrick or Addi Harris. They just need to be the best version of who they are."

Chirrick was remarkable again, scoring 23 points in just 25 minutes. She shot 9-14 from the floor and 4-6 from three-point range, leading all players with seven rebounds and seven steals. Harris added 12 points and four boards, blocking three shots.

Montana State took control early, jumping out to a 14-4 lead when Bailey scored on a free throw then converted a layup. After UI trimmed the lead to 19-13 the Bobcats rattled off a 10-2 run and led 29-17 at the end of the first quarter. The Cats out-shot Idaho 60 percent to 31.3 in the opening stanza, and while MSU's shooting cooled in the second quarter the defense didn't. MSU held the Vandals to 37.5 percent shooting in the second quarter, and led 53-5 at halftime.

Idaho averaged a league-leading 80.1 points entering Saturday's game, 23^rd in the nation. In holding Idaho to 14 points below that mark, MSU limited the Vandals to 33.9 percent shooting on the game and 21.1 percent from three-point range. MSU forced 25 turnovers and came away with 13 steals. Binford said the effort began on the interior.

"They've got dynamic guard play," Binford said. "They've got a lot of versatile players. They really spread the floor well.We really honed in on our frontcourt. The backcourt is where we take a lot of pride on trying to turn teams over, but we challenged them on the frontcourt, where we have not been defending well."

The team defense, Binford said, was crucial. "I just thought they really were locked in today with a lot more pressure and energy."

The Bobcats won their fourth straight game to open league play on Saturday, the 10^th start of at least 4-0 in the 42 seasons in MSU's Big Sky/Mountain West Athletic Conference era. The Cats own an 11-4 overall record, while Idaho falls to 11-5, 2-1. The Cats host Montana on Saturday at 2 pm.

Binford also said that freshman guard Heidi Smith will miss the remainder of the season with an injury.

#GoCatsGo