Saturday, January 17
BOZEMAN
2 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Montana
Tricia Binford
Photo by: Brian Morse
WBB l Bobcats Host Lady Griz in Saturday Afternoon Brawl of the Wild
1/16/2026 3:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State looks for fourth straight win against UM
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Jan. 15, 2026) – Montana State hits one of the high points of its season on Saturday, hosting Montana in Worthington Arena at 2 pm in the 122nd showdown between the ancient rivals.
Saturday's game pits a pair of teams experiencing different starts to the conference season. Montana State (11-4 overall) enters weekend play 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play and the final unbeaten in league action, while the injury-plagued Lady Griz (3-11) stand 0-4.
Records, though, are the furthest thing from MSU head coach Tricia Binford's thought process in preparing her team for Saturday. "I know (UM head coach and former Bobcat assistant) Nate Harris very well," Binford said. "He's a great coach, he's going to have them ready, and if you look at last year we had two games (against UM) go down to the last possession."
Traditionally one of the Big Sky's highest-scoring and best-shooting teams, the Lady Griz fit that mode until playing last weekend without leading scorer Mack Konig. UM scores 62.9 points per game and hits 9.5 triples per contest. Konig leads the way (17.4 points a game), while Jocelyn Land (12.7 points per game) and Avery Waddington (12.1) are also potent offensive weapons.
Montana's offense faces a Bobcat defense that has suffocated opponents in the backcourt but has shown less consistency in the frontcourt. MSU has forced 398 opponent turnovers, among the nation's top five, but allows opponents to shoot 41.6% from the floor and 34.3% from three-point range.
"We know they have talented players," Binford said. "We know they can put points on the board. We know we'll have our hands full defensively."
Lady Griz coach Nate Harris identified minimizing turnovers and controlling MSU's efforts on the glass are on top of his team's to-do list Saturday. Montana State's rebounding efforts emerge as paradoxical as the team's defense. Bobcat opponents out-rebound MSU by 1.5 boards per game (39.0 to 37.5), but the Cats have gathered 220 offensive rebounds, more than one-third of the team's 562 total caroms. Combined with MSU's 235 steals, the Bobcats have attempted over 200 more shots than the foe, making more than 100 extra baskets (438 to 337).
In spite of a lineup with six new freshmen, Binford points out that half the Bobcat newcomers possess personal connections to the Cat-Griz rivalry. Kadynce Couture grew up in Missoula, Grace Hintz' mother Blythe played for the Cats and Jamison Philip's sister Dylan preceded her in the MSU program.
Regardless of experience, Binford said each Cat-Griz game is its own entity. "It's Brawl of the Wild," Binford said. "We know it's going to be a big-time game."
A limited number of tickets remain for Saturday's Montana-Montana State women's game, which tips off at 2 pm and airs around the state on The Spot-MTN (Ben Creighton, Krista Redpath, Kyle Hansen). Daniel Salle calls the action for the Bobcat Radio Network. Purchase tickets at msubobcats.com/tickets.
#GoCatsGo
Saturday's game pits a pair of teams experiencing different starts to the conference season. Montana State (11-4 overall) enters weekend play 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play and the final unbeaten in league action, while the injury-plagued Lady Griz (3-11) stand 0-4.
Records, though, are the furthest thing from MSU head coach Tricia Binford's thought process in preparing her team for Saturday. "I know (UM head coach and former Bobcat assistant) Nate Harris very well," Binford said. "He's a great coach, he's going to have them ready, and if you look at last year we had two games (against UM) go down to the last possession."
Traditionally one of the Big Sky's highest-scoring and best-shooting teams, the Lady Griz fit that mode until playing last weekend without leading scorer Mack Konig. UM scores 62.9 points per game and hits 9.5 triples per contest. Konig leads the way (17.4 points a game), while Jocelyn Land (12.7 points per game) and Avery Waddington (12.1) are also potent offensive weapons.
Montana's offense faces a Bobcat defense that has suffocated opponents in the backcourt but has shown less consistency in the frontcourt. MSU has forced 398 opponent turnovers, among the nation's top five, but allows opponents to shoot 41.6% from the floor and 34.3% from three-point range.
"We know they have talented players," Binford said. "We know they can put points on the board. We know we'll have our hands full defensively."
Lady Griz coach Nate Harris identified minimizing turnovers and controlling MSU's efforts on the glass are on top of his team's to-do list Saturday. Montana State's rebounding efforts emerge as paradoxical as the team's defense. Bobcat opponents out-rebound MSU by 1.5 boards per game (39.0 to 37.5), but the Cats have gathered 220 offensive rebounds, more than one-third of the team's 562 total caroms. Combined with MSU's 235 steals, the Bobcats have attempted over 200 more shots than the foe, making more than 100 extra baskets (438 to 337).
In spite of a lineup with six new freshmen, Binford points out that half the Bobcat newcomers possess personal connections to the Cat-Griz rivalry. Kadynce Couture grew up in Missoula, Grace Hintz' mother Blythe played for the Cats and Jamison Philip's sister Dylan preceded her in the MSU program.
Regardless of experience, Binford said each Cat-Griz game is its own entity. "It's Brawl of the Wild," Binford said. "We know it's going to be a big-time game."
A limited number of tickets remain for Saturday's Montana-Montana State women's game, which tips off at 2 pm and airs around the state on The Spot-MTN (Ben Creighton, Krista Redpath, Kyle Hansen). Daniel Salle calls the action for the Bobcat Radio Network. Purchase tickets at msubobcats.com/tickets.
#GoCatsGo
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