Bobcats Trample Lady Griz in Saturday Matinee

Saturday, January 17

BOZEMAN

2 p.m.

Montana State University

12-4,5-0Big Sky

Montana

3-13,0-5Big Sky

Montana

Montana St.

Jamison Philip

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

1/17/2026 6:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Montana State's 82-44 victory is its largest against UM

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Mont. (Jan. 17, 2026) – If the first half was a roller coaster ride for Montana State in its 82-44 victory over Montana on Saturday, the third quarter amounted to a demolition derby.

"At halftime, it was just Coach Bin (MSU head coach Tricia Binford) saying, 'Hey, we've got to step it up,'" said Bobcat guard Taylee Chirrick. " The result was a 17-2 run to open the third quarter and a lead that doubled from 15 points at the period's onset to 30 at its close.

"The crowd was fantastic," Binford said of the 4,173 that packed into Worthington Arena Saturday afternoon, "so the energy was really good there. We were just super flat in the second quarter, so we needed to regroup and finish strong."

Montana State's 38-point shellacking stands as its largest margin of victory against UM, and it began early. The Cats scored the game's first 13 points and held the Lady Griz scoreless for the game's first 5:34. MSU led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter, and in spite of a sluggish second quarter outscored Montana in all four periods.

After losing the tipoff to open the game, Ella Johnson came up with the first of her five steals. The Lady Griz stop on their first defensive possession proved fruitless, as Taylee Chirrick came up with a steal, Issy Bunyan drained a three-pointer, and the Bobcats were off to the races.

"We couldn't have asked for a better start," Binford said. "We set the tone with our defense."

The Bobcats forced five turnovers in the first three minutes and allowed UM just three shots in that span. Meanwhile, MSU made four of its first seven shots and used its full offensive arsenal.

Jamison Philip knifed to the basket for a pair of layups, and Chirrick converted a fast-break layup. Another fast break layup by Chirrick and a fast break layup by Kadynce Couture pushed MSU's lead to 13-0. The Lady Griz never got closer than 10 the rest of the game.

Montana State held UM to 34% shooting (14-41) and 25% from three-point range (5-20). The Cats forced 32 Montana turnovers – the second-highest total this season – and out-rebounded the Lady Griz 37-31.

Jamison Philip led all scorers with a career-high 23 points, while Chirrick added 19 and Bunyan 11. Johnson snagged game highs with eight rebounds and five steals. No Lady Griz scored in double-figures.

Montana State raised its record to 12-4 overall and a Big Sky-leading 5-0. Montana id 3-13, 0-5. The Bobcats face a stern challenge Monday night at 7 pm when Northern Colorado brings its 5-1 league record to Worthington Arena. MSU topped the Bears 86-79 in Greeley on January 1.

#GoCatsGo