Big Sky Conference

Explosive start, tough finish helps Bobcats to 24th straight home win

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With a signature victory filled with redemption on the line, the Bobcats turned to their seniors.

Early on, Peyton Ferris lit the fuse before Riley Nordgaard and Margreet Barhoum poured gasoline on the already raging fire. But Idaho State extinguished the flame and rallied back as the Bengals always seem to.

Montana State’s senior trio entered the Wednesday night’s game at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse with just two wins in MSU’s last 11 matchups against Idaho State. The Bengals eliminated the top-seeded Bobcats on a buzzer-beater in MSU’s first game at the Big Sky Conference tournament in Reno last season.

With a 23-game home winning streak and a chance to avenge all the heartache inflicted by ISU at stake, Ferris scored the first five points of the game. Nordgaard set the tone with momentum-swinging defensive plays and Barhoum nailed Montana State’s sixth 3-pointer of an explosive first quarter in which MSU made an early statement by building a 27-7 lead.

With a focus unseen for a team that boasts one of the Big Sky’s most complete rosters — MSU has a championship banner from last season to prove it — the Bobcats threw the first punch before hanging on for dear life. Ferris and Nordgaard combine for 35 points and 16 rebounds, Montana State drilled 11 3-pointers, but just one after halftime and the Bobcats emerged with a 73-67 win in front of 1,601 at the Brick on Wednesday night.

Montana State senior Peyton Ferris

Montana State senior Peyton Ferris

“We weren’t super sharp down the stretch — we are usually a lot better than that — but I was really, really proud of our resilience when they really tightened it up and we countered,” MSU 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford said. “That’s the sign of a great atmosphere and experience. We did have some kids on the floor who didn’t have as much experience as we are used to. But I’m really proud of how they contributed.”

Ferris scored nine points in the first quarter, hitting her first four shots against a team she said earlier this week she considers MSU’s fiercest rival other than the Lady Griz of Montana. Ferris finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, including two crucial rebounds down the stretch that led to three game-sealing free throws to help her team to their 24th straight home win, a school record and the fourth-longest streak in the nation.

“This feels good because they are a team that always comes out to play,” the Twin Bridges native said. “Getting the win against them, especially the final week of playing here and going into the tournament is great.

“We came out and played hard right away.”

Nordgaard had two blocks, snared a steal and hit three 3-pointers in the first half as she refused to let Idaho State’s physical play disrupt her game-changing ability. Nordgaard finished with 13 points and four rebounds in 36 minutes as Montana State stayed alive for one more game in its quest for a second straight Big Sky crown. MSU is now 14-3 in league play, 21-6 overall.

“This one felt good,” Nordgaard said as she unwrapped a left ankle she sprained during the fourth quarter of the win. “Idaho State, we’ve had to battle with them and we definitely wanted to take care of business. I think we did just that.

Margreet Barhoum gremlin cuts to the hoop

Montana State senior Margreet Barhoum

In the first start of her senior year and just the third of her career because of normal starter Hannah Caudill’s illness, Barhoum drilled a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to stake MSU to a 20-point advantage 10 minutes in. She hit two free throws that served as Montana State’s only points during the second half of the second quarter as the Bengals briefly shaved the lead to 10 by holding the hosts scoreless for more than four minutes.

And as MSU clung to a 54-51 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, she converted in the lane. The senior finished with seven points in 24 minutes. Barhoum, freshman Oliana Squires (eight points) and junior Rebekah Hatchard (five points) picked up the slack running the point in Caudill’s absence.

“It was huge for us and we wanted to play to (Barhoum, Squires and Hatchard’s) strengths so right from the start, we talked about we wanted this to be a very up-tempo game,” Binford said. “All three of them are super explosive in the open court. I thought our tempo couldn’t have been any better in that first quarter.”

The Bobcats built a 41-29 halftime lead by drilling 10-of-16 attempts from behind the arc, including 6-of-8 in the first quarter. The Bobcats also played effective defense, limiting ISU to 3-of-17 shooting in the first quarter and 33 percent in the first half despite hitting 8-of-16 in the second frame. ISU won the second quarter 22-14 by holding MSU to 4-of-15 shooting in the frame, but all four were 3-pointers.

The Bengals responded by dominating the pace of the game for the duration of the second half. Idaho State used an extended run to cut what was once a 39-20 lead to two points, 59-57, with six minutes left to play. ISU freshman Estefania Ors scored 10 of her team-high 19 points during the first 14 minutes of the second half.

Annika Lai drives with stranger things body

Montana State sophomore Annika Lai drives by ISU junior Lindsay Brown

“They made a nice run but we missed some open looks,” Binford said. “We actually had a conversation during a timeout about having to knock some shots down. First quarter, we didn’t miss. Then we went ice cold. I thought we got good looks. And we responded well and that’s what teams have to do. Give Idaho State a bunch of credit.”

Ferris, as she has for her entire senior year, responded. Her 15-foot jump shot — her final field goal on an 8-of-11 evening — pushed the lead to 61-57 with 4:29 left. On the next possession, Ferris found sophomore Annika Lai for an easy layup and Lai blocked an ISU shot on the next possession. Ferris rebounded the ball and found junior Delany Junkermier in transition. Junkermier, who scored 11 points to join Ferris and Nordgaard in double figures, finished through contact to give MSU a 65-58 advantage with 3:13 left.

Two Lai free throws with a minute left and one more from the stripe by Ferris pushed the lead to 68-59, MSU’s largest of the final frame. Ferris grabbed two more rebounds and hit two more free throws, Nordgaard came up with a crucial block and Junkermier hit 3-of-4 free throws to sew up MSU’s 21st victory this season.

Riley Norgaard goes baseline

MSU senior Riley Nordgaard

On a wild night in Big Sky women’s action, MSU was one of the few teams that avoided an upset. First-place North Dakota moved to 15-2 in league and sewed up at least a share of the league title with a 92-78 win at Sacramento State. Northern Arizona posted a 76-61 win at Idaho for NAU’s first win in Moscow since 1996. Northern Colorado’s 57-50 win at Portland State moved the Bears to 13-4 in league, a game behind the Bobcats for the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky Tournament with one game to play. The win also sewed up a first-round bye for the Bears.

Despite a 64-63 home loss to Southern Utah (2-15, 7-21), Eastern Washington is alone in third place while Idaho, who lost to NAU in Moscow for the first time since 1996, and Idaho State are tied at 10-7 in fifth place.

Montana State has a chance for a 25th straight home win and is still alive for a share of a second straight league title. If the Bobcats beat Weber State on Friday night and North Dakota loses at Portland State, MSU would receive the tiebreaker and earn the top seed in the league tournament for the second straight year.

“I don’t think I’ve let it set in that Saturday is the last one yet,” Nordgaard said. “I’m definitely going to miss playing in front of the Brick. These fans have really welcomed me and my transition onto this squad and the success this team has definitely earned. I think we will talk about records after that game but I’m looking forward to having one more opportunity on this floor to finish this thing out with a W.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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