Big Sky Conference

Bobcat women have navigated challenging schedule

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The Big Sky season is just one-third complete, yet the Montana State women have already been through the rigors of the conference season.

MSU has posted four wins in six league outings thus far, a stretch that includes games against six of the seven other teams in the Big Sky’s top eight other than Montana State. MSU swept Eastern Washington and Idaho at home. MSU is 2-2 on the road, splitting each of its road trips. Montana State followed its Thursday wins over Weber State and UND with losses at Idaho State and Northern Colorado, respectively.

MSU head coach Tricia Binford

MSU head coach Tricia Binford

“The conference is super tight, great parity,” Montana State 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford said. “I know there is a little bit of a separation in wins and losses but not everybody has played everybody at this point in the year. For us, we know how hard it is to win on the road. For us to come away with a split in probably your most difficult travel is a pretty good thing.

“But at the same time, we feel like we missed an opportunity with less than two minutes and a lead and 28 turnovers (at Northern Colorado), I think that’s a missed opportunity for us.”

On paper at least, the schedule now offers some reprieve, although Sacramento State, Thursday’s visitor to Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, offers one of the most unique preparations in the league. Saturday, MSU hosts Portland State, winners of three straight including a sweep of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona in Portland last week.

A season ago, Weber State won 23 games. Idaho State advanced to the Big Sky Tournament championship game before losing to Idaho, eliminating top-seeded Montana State in the process. EWU won 20 games, including eliminating Sac State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament. North Dakota and Northern Colorado each were eliminated in one game in the postseason tournament in Reno but each brought 4-0 records into the weekend before the visit from the Montana schools.

After the third weekend of league action, the reigning Big Sky champion Bobcats sit alone in fourth in the standings. Northern Colorado is alone in first at 6-0 in league, 14-3 overall. North Dakota salvaged a split after Thursday’s 74-71 overtime loss to Montana State by beating Montana 73-63 on Saturday afternoon. UND is now 5-1. EWU has won three straight following an 88-83 overtime loss in Bozeman, including a 99-85 win over Weber State on Saturday.

MSU forward Blair Braxton (44)

MSU forward Blair Braxton (44)

“It’s a strong league,” Binford said. “I’m definitely impressed with North Dakota and Northern Colorado. They are very different teams, very different styles. We will get this week to see two new teams of the conference. I feel like we are in a really good position if we can continue focusing on the present game ahead of us. I like our chances. I think we are doing some things very well. We have to get our assist to turnover ratio in the right order. That in itself will be what hinders us until we get that improved.”

Rebounding margin has been the key statistic in determining Montana State’s success this season. Turnovers have been an equally important factor for MSU lately. Binford’s goal is to commit 14 turnovers or less and surpass that number in assists each night out.

The Bobcats hit that goal in Thursday’s OT win at UND. Despite losing the battle of the boards 48-47, 32 points from senior Peyton Ferris and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 15-14 proved to be just enough. MSU turned the ball over 28 times against in a 66-58 loss at Northern Colorado. The Bobcats led entering the fourth quarter and by one with two minutes to play. But UNC ended the action on a 9-0 run to secure its sixth straight Big Sky win.

“At UNC, we tried to take every play on individually and we didn’t follow our game plan or work at as a team,” MSU junior point guard Hannah Caudill said on Tuesday.

MSU turned the ball over 21 times against Weber’s athletic guards but shot 53.6 percent and dished out 16 assists in an 83-68 win. The Bobcats committed 14 turnovers in Pocatello but lost 67-59 as the Bengals earned a 53-38 advantage on the glass. In the first home stand of the conference season, Montana State committed 22 turnovers against Eastern Washington but 30 points by Ferris and 22 more from classmate Riley Nordgaard pushed MSU to an 88-83 overtime win. The Bobcats cut their turnovers to 14 against 20 assists in an 80-64 win over Idaho.

MSU guard Hannah Caudill (23)

MSU guard Hannah Caudill (23)

“Sometimes we force things that aren’t necessary,” Caudill said. “I think we need to work on spacing and actually sticking to our plays and running them correctly.”

A year after leading the league in assists with more than 18 per game, the Bobcats are averaging 14.3 assists per game, seventh in the Big Sky during conference play. MSU is averaging 19 turnovers per game in league. The Bobcats are 10th in turnover margin at -4.83.

Caudill has been the litmus paper when measuring taking care of the basketball. The 5-foot-7 point guard from Spokane led the Big Sky with 5.7 assists per game last season despite backing up senior Lindsay Stockton. This season, Caudill has 64 assists (4.0) per game but 54 turnovers. She has 18 assists and 27 turnovers in six conference starts.

“I have not been good with my turnovers,” Caudill candidly admitted. “My passing has not been as great as last year. Some of that has to do with different personalities, learning everybody. But I need to focus more on limiting my turnovers and increasing my assists and getting more people involved.”

The Gonzaga Prep product will be tested once again Thursday against Sac State’s frantic style (click here for more). The Hornets’ unique style demands 100 shot attempts, 50 3-point attempts, 30 forced turnovers and a good percentage of the offensive rebounds to be successful. Head coach Bunky Harkleroad employs a full-court press from start to finish and rotates his players ever two minutes or less with hockey-style line changes.

“It’s one of my favorite games to play,” Caudill said. “I know it’s different than most of our opponents. It’s more fun offensively because you get to transition a lot more and take more shots than you are used to. Defensively, we have kind of the same game plan for every certain player so that’s easier. It’s a high-tempo, really fun game.”

MSU guard Riley Nordgaard (15)

MSU guard Riley Nordgaard (15)

Ferris, Nordgaard, Caudill, junior Delany Junkermier and senior Margreet Barhoum have all played against the pandemonium before. But sophomore Annika Lai and freshmen Blaire Braxton, Oliana Squires and Madeline Smith will face Sac State for the first time.

“They are very aggressive, they make you play at a rushed pace so I think we need to keep up with their speed and not be rushed,” Caudill said. “This is a great challenge for me and for us.”

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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