WBB: Brianne Bailey Hits Clutch Shot and MSU Scratches Out OT Win to Send Cats to Big Sky Title Tilt on Wednesday

Tuesday, March 10

Boise, ID

2:30 pm

Montana State University

25-6,16-2Big Sky

Eastern Washington

15-18,7-11Big Sky

OT 1

Eastern Wash.

Montana St.

"Touched By God" - Brianne Bailey's game-tying jumpre

Photo by: Brian Morse

WBB: Brianne Bailey Hits Clutch Shot and MSU Scratches Out OT Win to Send Cats to Big Sky Title Tilt on Wednesday

3/10/2026 7:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

"Touched By God" shot sends game to overtime, where Bobcats pull out the win over Eastern Washington

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Mont. (March 10, 2026) – Montana State's Issy Bunyan inbounded the ball directly across from the Bobcat bench with 14.3 seconds to play. The Bobcats trailed 69-66.

Bunyan found Brianne Bailey at the top of the key, and the freshman dribbled left and passed to Addison Harris. The shot was supposed to be Harris', but she was closely guarded so she directed the ball back to Bailey.

"I swung her the ball and yelled, 'Shoot it!'" Harris said. As the clock ticked under eight seconds, Bailey lofted a high, arcing shot from two steps beyond the three-point line. Harris said from her vantage point near the sideline, the play felt like it was in slow motion.

"I watched it go up," Harris said, "and, like, touch the ceiling. I'm pretty sure I saw God reach down and touch the ball, it touched heaven and went straight through (the hoop), perfect swish. Never seen anything better."

The play that will live forever in Bobcat women's basketball history as "Touched By God" tied the game, but plenty of action remained before the overtime. On the ensuing inbound play, Harris tied up Eastern's sensational freshman guard Elyn Bowers, giving MSU possession. Taylee Chirrick drove the lane, absorbed contact, and missed a short scoop shot as time expired.

Montana State made six of its eight free throws in the final minute of overtime and successfully defended a last second shot from Eastern Washington's Jaecy Eggers to scratch out a 79-77 win and advance to the Big Sky Championship Game for the second straight season. The Cats play Idaho on Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm.

But on Tuesday, the attention was on MSU's incredible win rather than what was to follow. There could have been some foreshadowing drawn from the two previous meetings between EWU and the Bobcats. MSU won 72-70 in overtime on January 8 in Bozeman, then won 71-69 in Cheney on February 7.

"Eastern played an incredible game," said Bobcats head coach Tricia Binford.

Early on, late-game heroics seemed an improbable proposition. MSU led 20-10 after the first quarter, held a 19-point cushion late in the second quarter, and owned a 40-26 advantage at halftime. But Eastern shot 14-for-23 in the second half, MSU made 11 of its 34 shots, and the once-large lead evaporate.

From the middle of the third quarter until three minutes remained in the fourth, Eastern Washington possessed four times with a chance to tie or take the lead. MSU fought off each of those, but with 2:39 to play in regulation Bowers scored on a driving layup, and on the next possession Caitie Gingras drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 63-60 lead with 1:55 to play.

Harris and EWU's Ella Gallatin traded baskets, then Bunyan hit a short runner to draw MSU within one. Gallatin's two free throws with 18 seconds left pushed the Eastern lead back to three, but Jamison Philip converted a layup to cut the score to 67-66. Bowers made two free throws with 14.3 seconds remaining to set the stage for Bailey's heroics.

Both teams shot well to open the first quarter, but Montana State's defense took control early. Eastern Washington made its first two shots and the Cats four of their first five, but MSU forced four turnovers in the Eagles first six possessions. At one point EWU had five field goal attempts and five turnovers, and by the end of the period had attempted 12 shots and turned it over eight times.

Montana State, on the other hand, hit nine shots, two from beyond the arc, and committed only three turnovers. The Cats led 20-10 after one quarter.

The second quarter unfolded in a similar fashion. The Bobcats forced five turnovers and gave the ball away three times, shot more times (16 to 13), hit shots at a better clip (50 percent to 46.2) and outscored the Eagles 20-16.

Eastern Washington's Bowers scored 11 of her team's 26 points in the first half, and Eggers added nine. That inside-out combo combined to shoot 8-for-11 from the field, while the rest of the team was 3-for-14. Meanwhile, Chirrick dominated for MSU. The 2026 Big Sky MVP scored 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, grabbed three boards, dished out two assists and came away with one steal. Harris added nine points and three boards before the intermission.

The overtime was a wild affair. Gingras hit a three-pointer and Eggers a second-chance layup, but Harris' two free throws and Chirrick's layup left the game tied two minutes into the extra period.

With four ticks under a minute left in the overtime, Ella Johnson made one free throw before missing the second. Chirrick grabbed the rebound, Harris missed a jumper, Bailey corralled the ball and Chirrick drew a foul. The sophomore made both free throws to stretch MSU's lead to 77-74 with 16 seconds to play.

Gallatin's short jumper with 11 seconds to play pulled Eastern to within one, then Chirrick made one of two free throws with 10 seconds to play. Three seconds later, Bowers made one of two charity tosses, then on the other end Harris matched that effort.

The Bobcats held a 79-77 lead when Bowers drove the court with about five seconds to play. Eggers missed a short jumper as the buzzer sounded, and Montana State had the dramatic victory.

Confidence was a discussion point following the win, much of it centering on Bailey. "The thing about Bri is that she's a confident player," Chirrick said. "That's something that you can't really teach necessarily. In situations like that it's important to have a player that's going to take that shot and be confident in it. Obviously confidence is going to be important when you take that shot."

Harris credited a group dynamic with her team's ability to pull Tuesday's game out of the fire. "Our will power won that game for us," she said. "That and all the work we put in."

That, and perhaps some divine intervention. "Before I subbed in (prior to the decisive possession of regulation), I prayed, 'Heavenly father, this is all for you,'" Bailey said.

By her faith, and her shot, the Bobcats live to play again on Wednesday. Montana State (25-6 overall, 16-2 in the Big Sky) looks to defend its Big Sky Tournament Championship against Idaho. The Vandals (28-5, 17-1) handed MSU one of its two Big Sky losses this season, while the Cats gave Idaho its lone league defeat.

#GoCatsGo