BOZEMAN, Montana — It’s exceedingly rare that games, especially heated rivalry contests, go about exactly as you expect.
Saturday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, two teams going in opposite directions squared off on an exuberant day that saw Montana State celebrate its football national championship all morning long.
The Bobcat women’s basketball team entered the clash forcing 27 turnovers per game and with the lone undefeated record in Big Sky Conference play through the first two weekends of 2026.
The Lady Griz entered the game with a 3-11 record that included an 0-4 mark in Big Sky play. And to make matters more complicated, Mack Konig, Montana’s all-conference point guard, missed her 4th consecutive game. She was seen on the sideline wearing a walking boot.
The most high-pressure defense in the conference playing a struggling team without its point guard in a raucous rivalry atmosphere? It went just about how you thought it would here on Saturday.
Montana State forced 14 turnovers in the first five minutes of the game and 19 before halftime in holding UM to a season-low 17 points in the first half. And although the Lady Griz used a 2-3 zone defense to stem the tide a bit in a second quarter where MSU held just an 11-10 advantage, a halftime celebration seemed to re-ignited the hosts.
At the break, Montana State unveiled its football banners, rolling down its 18th Big Sky Conference title banner and its fourth national championship banner to the delight of the 4,173 in attendance.
After the celebration, the Bobcat women re-lit the fuse, starting the second half on an 8-0 run, winning the third quarter by 15 points to push the advantage to 30 and cruised from there, posting an 82-44 victory.
“I don’t know if we were playing off the crowd or what but we couldn’t ask for a better start,” Montana State head coach Tricia Binford after moving to 24-20 against the Lady Griz in her career, including 13-8 at home. “We set the tone with our defense. Then our bench gave us a great rotation and the crowd was fantastic.”
The win is Montana State’s 12th* straight in Bozeman over Montana. The Bobcats have won 14 of the last 16 in a rivalry once dominated by the Lady Griz.
MSU is now 5-0 in league play thanks in part to forcing 32 turnovers and snaring 19 steals. Taylee Chirrick led the charge, swiping three steals and pouring in 19 points in just 23 minutes. Freshman point guard Jamison Phillip had a breakout in her first rivalry game, streaking her way to 23 points and chipping in three steals.
“All around, everyone was playing great defense,” Chirrick, a Roberts product, said following the win. “You have Elle (Johnson) with her long arms running around. Everyone was on the same page and it was working for us.
“As soon as we started getting after them, it was like a trigger light and we wanted to keep it rolling.”
Montana is now 0-5 in league play after shooting 34 percent from the floor and 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. Abby Shubert led Montana with eight points.
The margin of victory for Montana State is the steepest ever in the history of the rivalry. Saturday marked the lowest point total by a Lady Griz team against Montana since 1975.
“Montana State played better than us today,” Montana first-year head coach Nate Harris said. “We have to do a better job of putting them in position. We thought we had a plan to break the press. As soon as we changed personnel at the front of the press, we changed how we were going to attack it. And Montana State is relentless. Trish has done such a good job of getting those kids to play super hard and have those kids have very active hands and attack, attack, attack.
“I’m never making excuses but you play any game without your primary ball handler (Konig), it hurts. You play this game without your primary ball handler? It’s pretty daunting.”
Montana treaded water briefly in the second quarter when Harris switched into an aggressive 2-3 zone. That forced Montana State to miss 14 times in 15 field goal attempts. The Bobcats also teurned the ball over five times in that stretch.
Yet the Lady Griz still could not cut the lead under 11 points despite MSU’s cold streak.
“I thought getting it under 10 would’ve been big for our confidence, honestly,” Harris said.
Montana State did not shoot the ball particularly well from deep, finishing 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. But four of those triples came in the third quarter when MSU blew the game back open. Isobel Bunyan, who joined Chirrick and Phillip in double figures with 11 points, drilled all three of her triples during that stretch.
“We just talked at halftime and pulled it together,” Chirrick said. “We had a dominant first quarter and we let up second quarter, so halftime, Coach Bin said let’s step it up. Doing that in the third quarter was important for us.”
Chirrick, who started her prep career at Billings West before finishing at Class C Roberts, continues to be a revelation. She was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman as MSU set a league record with 30 wins last season. This year, she’s taken her game to the next level. She is averaging nearly 19 points and nearly eight rebounds per game while also ranking near the national lead in steals per game.
“We’ve asked Taylee to be a bigger scorer for us this year,” Binford said. “She comes through in every regard. This kid is so consistent packing the stat sheet every time she steps on the floor. She’s a true competitor and there’s nothing she can’t do. Her motor is amazing. She’s really improved her shot. She’s hit some clutch shots in big situations. The offensive end has been something she’s taken to heart for us and the defense will always be there.”
Chirrick has an unorthodox motion on her set shot from beyond the arc. But she’s managed to become an elite shooter. She’s hitting 50 percent of her 3-point attempts in league play and went 2-of-5 on Saturday.
“If she’s hitting shots from 3 at that rate, she becomes truly unstoppable because she’s such an elite athlete,” Harris said.
Montana State has beaten several of the top contenders in league play already. The Bobcats have a different look from a year ago, but a similar feel in terms of the good vibes and obvious chemistry of the team. With a home rivalry win now in the rearview, the pursuit of another Big Sky title is in sharp focus for the Bobcats.
“We are young and in the preseason, I would not say we were the best practice team but we would show up and be relentless in games,” Binford said. “We have gotten much better in practices. That’s really helping them get better and improve. I love the accountability that they have for each other in that regard.
“Our bench has gotten more consistent, too. When you have a really competitive bench, and you get everybody playing fresher, that’s powerful.
“Our ability to trust and rely on each other, that’s our key. We want them to love each other.”
