Montana State Uses Strong Third Quarter to Race Past Northern Colorado

Monday, January 19

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

13-4,6-0Big Sky

Northern Colorado

14-6,5-2Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Montana St.

Addison Harris

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

Montana State Uses Strong Third Quarter to Race Past Northern Colorado

1/19/2026 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Addison Harris pours in 23 points to lead Bobcats

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Mont. (Jan. 19, 2026) – Addison Harris scored 23 points in Montana State's 71-57 win over Northern Colorado on Monday, including 15 of the Bobcats' 32 points in the third quarter, but the Montana State sophomore thought it was something else entirely that helped her team finish a season sweep of the team that began the day in second place in the Big Sky.

"I think what's most disheartening (for MSU's opponent) is the fact that all of those points probably come in transition directly from turnovers," she said. "I think once we got five turnovers in a row and converted them directly into points. I think that's the disheartening part."

The Bobcats battled through an uneven first half, leading 33-25 at the intermission, but Taylee Chirrick's three-point field goal to open the second half scoring launched a 16-5 run that gave Montana State control of the game. In that stretch, which covered three minutes, MSU forced six turnovers and converted those takeaways into 13 points.

"Our defensive energy is what gets us going," Harris said. "When we rotate correctly, when they get flustered on offense, that translaters into our offensive energy. But we get all of our energy from defense."

The Bobcats forced 25 Northern Colorado turnovers, converting ensuing possessions to 24 points. Harris tallied two steals, with Ella Johnson, Jamison Philip and Kadynce Couture all snagging three. Grace Hintz also came up with two.

While Harris called Montana State's pressure defense a tangible effect that's easy to sense coming, Binford said it's something more fundamental. "That's Bobcat basketball right there," she said. "That's what we want to be about. We want to go off of our defense, and they came out and really set the tone."

While the Bobcats cracked the game open in the second half, MSU played from in front all game. The Cats scored the game's nine points, and never trailed. Bears post player Aniah Hall made sure Montana State didn't create too much separation early, however, scoring all 10 UNC points in the first quarter. The Bobcats led 16-10 after one period, then stretched that lead to 33-25 at halftime.

In addition to Hall's strong play, UNC did much of their early work at the free throw line. The Bears shot 8-14 from the free throw line in the first half, outscoring the Cats by five points from the stripe in that time. MSU point guard Jamison Philip picked up her second foul in the game's first six minutes, and the Cats shot just 41 percent in the opening period and 2-7 after that foul. The Bobcats responded in the second quarter by shooting 46 percent, with Hintz coming off the bench to hit a pair of important shots.

That set up the decisive third quarter, when MSU outscored the Bears 32-22 and shot 61.9 percent. Harris' dominance – her 15 points came on 7-10 shooting – came by executing offensively against Northern Colorado's variable defenses. "We talked about two different ways we wanted to exit through the zone, and be intentional at that, and I really thought Addi inserted herself a lot better and we played through her more (in the third quarter). We got better cuts off her."

Harris' 23 points matched her third-most as a Bobcat, and was her second 23-point effort in the most recent four games. She also poured in 23 against Eastern Washington. Her top two scoring games came against Carroll in the season opener (27 points) and 26 against UNLV. "She had a fantastic day," Binford said, "a phenomenal second half. I think she had five (points) in the first half, and when that rim gets a little bit big it kind of goes through the hot hand, and she certainly was that."

Montana State's win pushes the Bobcats' record to 13-4 overall, 6-0 in Big Sky play, and gives the team a season sweep against a UNC team that entered the day in second place in the league. The Bobcats now travel south to play Idaho State that is 5-2 in the Big Sky on Thursday. Tipoff is 7 pm in Pocatello, Idaho.

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