Thursday, March 26
BOZEMAN
7:00 pm
Montana State University
27-7,16-2Big Sky
72
vs
54
Portland
20-15,11-7WCC
1st quarter1
2nd quarter2
3rd quarter3
4th quarter4
FinalF
Portland
7
14
21
12
54
Montana St.
19
16
16
21
72
Bobcat players celebrate the Super 16 win with MSU students on Thursday
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Bobcats Use Fast Start to Top Portland and Advance to WNIT Great Eight
3/26/2026 11:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Addison Harris scores 23 points to pace MSU
BOZEMAN, Mont. (March 26, 2026) – The knockout blow came early.
Montana State scored the game's first eight points, built a double-digit lead over Portland in the first quarter, and rode brilliant performances by Addison Harris and Taylee Chirrick to a 72-54 win in an electric Worthington Arena on Thursday. The victory propels the Bobcats into a WNIT Great Eight showdown at South Dakota on Sunday at 12 noon MT.
"I thought we set the tone early," said MSU coach Tricia Binford, "really playing off the crowd. And can we just talk about the crowd and our student section? The marketing department did an incredible job today. The crowd was unbelievable."
The same could be said of Montana State's superb sophomores. Harris scored a game-high 23 points, adding two rebounds and two assists. In spite of being saddled with two first-quarter fouls, Chirrick scored 17 points and grabbed 13 boards. She also added five assists and three steals.
Montana State held the Pilots to 21 percent shooting in the first quarter while forcing eight UP turnovers. The Bobcats built their early lead by holding Portland without a shot on three of its first four possessions. Chirrick opened the scoring by banking home a three-pointer, then Harris hit a short jumper and Jamison Philip made a free throw. Harris' fast-break layup made the score 8-0.
The first quarter largely belonged to Harris. She scored eight of MSU's 19 points on 3-for-5 shooting with two free throws. Montana State led 19-7 after the first quarter, and 35-21 at halftime. After the Bobcats built that lead to 21 points, the Pilots launched their only counter-offensive of the game.
Lainey Spear's steal and fast break layup got the run started, and by the time it was finished it had grown to 12-0. That carried the Pilots to the third quarter's end, with the score 51-42. But the Bobcats steadied. Harris made a pair of shots in the paint, Chirrik made a layup at the end of a fast break, and Ella Johnson hit a three-pointer. MSU led 60-46, and Bobcats outscored Portland 21-12 in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Montana State raised its record to 27-6, the second-most wins in program history, while ending Portland's season at 20-15. The Cats also raised their home record to 15-0, and the crowd of 3,897 was Montana State's third-largest of the season.
#GoCatsGo
Montana State scored the game's first eight points, built a double-digit lead over Portland in the first quarter, and rode brilliant performances by Addison Harris and Taylee Chirrick to a 72-54 win in an electric Worthington Arena on Thursday. The victory propels the Bobcats into a WNIT Great Eight showdown at South Dakota on Sunday at 12 noon MT.
"I thought we set the tone early," said MSU coach Tricia Binford, "really playing off the crowd. And can we just talk about the crowd and our student section? The marketing department did an incredible job today. The crowd was unbelievable."
The same could be said of Montana State's superb sophomores. Harris scored a game-high 23 points, adding two rebounds and two assists. In spite of being saddled with two first-quarter fouls, Chirrick scored 17 points and grabbed 13 boards. She also added five assists and three steals.
Montana State held the Pilots to 21 percent shooting in the first quarter while forcing eight UP turnovers. The Bobcats built their early lead by holding Portland without a shot on three of its first four possessions. Chirrick opened the scoring by banking home a three-pointer, then Harris hit a short jumper and Jamison Philip made a free throw. Harris' fast-break layup made the score 8-0.
The first quarter largely belonged to Harris. She scored eight of MSU's 19 points on 3-for-5 shooting with two free throws. Montana State led 19-7 after the first quarter, and 35-21 at halftime. After the Bobcats built that lead to 21 points, the Pilots launched their only counter-offensive of the game.
Lainey Spear's steal and fast break layup got the run started, and by the time it was finished it had grown to 12-0. That carried the Pilots to the third quarter's end, with the score 51-42. But the Bobcats steadied. Harris made a pair of shots in the paint, Chirrik made a layup at the end of a fast break, and Ella Johnson hit a three-pointer. MSU led 60-46, and Bobcats outscored Portland 21-12 in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Montana State raised its record to 27-6, the second-most wins in program history, while ending Portland's season at 20-15. The Cats also raised their home record to 15-0, and the crowd of 3,897 was Montana State's third-largest of the season.
#GoCatsGo
Team Stats
UP
MSU
FG%
.367
.433
3FG%
.276
.240
FT%
.400
.615
RB
30
51
TO
16
13
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
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