Women's Basketball Opens Season with Dominant Win - Montana State University Athletics

Monday, November 2

Bozeman, MT

11:00 am MT

Montana State University

1-0,0-0Big Sky

Black Hills State

0-0,0-0RMAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Black Hills St.	6	12	13	7	38
Montana St.	19	27	15	21	82

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

11/2/2026 2:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

BOZEMAN, Mont. – In a season with championship aspirations, Montana State women's basketball opened the year with a statement, downing Black Hills State in an 82-38 win. With over 5,000 students from across the state of Montana packed into the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the Bobcats (1-0) began the 2026-27 slate in the win column, while the Yellow Jackets (0-0), who play at the Division II level, credited the result to their exhibition schedule.

"There is nothing quite like school day," head coach Tricia Binford said. "It's such a great way to embrace our community, and we were really feeding off of the energy. There is no quiet out there, which makes it hard to communicate at times, but the atmosphere was contagious. I thought we had some great moments and some things to clean up moving forward."

The Bobcats put on a show for their young fans, with 11 players contributing to the day's scoring. MSU shot 42.6% from the field and 30.3% from three, with Brianne Bailey leading the offensive efforts. Finishing with 15 points, Bailey went 3-for-5 from behind the arc and added seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in her first game as a member of Montana State's starting lineup. Preseason All-Big Sky selection Addison Harris also reached double-digit scoring with 14 points and was a big contributor to the defense with two blocked shots and six rebounds. Jamison Philip added 10 points, going 2-for-2 from three.

In her Bobcat debut, sophomore transfer Braeden Gunlock had a game-high four steals, adding to the team's 17 total. Taylee Chirrick and freshman Madison O'Connor also had three steals, helping to facilitate MSU's 32 points from turnovers. Also making their first regular-season appearances, Ebele Mbagwu went 2-for-4 from the field while Emma Donglemans netted her first basket from behind the three-point line. Dylan Philip had eight points, three rebounds, and a pair of steals in her return to the court.

Brooke Fatupaito, who finished with two points, two assists, and two rebounds, had familiar faces in the crowd from Hawthorne Elementary School, where she is a student-teacher.

"It's so fun to play in front of all these kids," Fatupaito said. "The energy is great. We have been looking forward to this field trip day for a long time, and it was so fun to see my students sitting right by our bench."

Montana State returns to Worthington Arena at 2 p.m. MT on Sunday, Nov. 8, to host Portland in a rematch of last year's WNIT Super 16. Single-game and season tickets are on sale now.