Peyton Ferris lived beneath a spotlight as Montana’s top basketball talent coming out of tiny Twin Bridges High School. Her 42 points in the Western C district championship game as a prep senior helped her legend grow.
In her first collegiate season, the former small school star did the almost unthinkable, breaking into Montana State’s starting lineup as a true freshman the year after earning Montana Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
MSU forward Peyton Ferris finishes with the left hand
Almost immediately, the struggles began and Ferris was awash in adversity. As a rookie for the Montana State women’s basketball team, Ferris started four games and played in 22. But her position on the wing did not seem to be a good fit for her slashing, aggressive, physical style. She shot just 29 percent from the floor and made just 2-of-13 3-pointers.
The following season, she incurred a knee injury that required surgery, one of three she’s had up to this point. She has also had to battle back from ankle and foot surgeries that are almost certainly a product of her take no prisoners style of play. Sometimes, Ferris said, the recovery process can “get into your head” as the pain haunts you at every tedious turn.
Ferris redshirted her second season in Bozeman. Last winter, she returned to the lineup but found herself buried on the depth chart. Because Montana State was short on bodies in the post, Ferris worked into the position one day during practice. MSU head coach Tricia Binford saw right away that it was a natural fit.
Alexa Dawkins has been entrenched as Montana State’s starting power forward the last two seasons. But Dawkins has an ailing knee of her own that limits her minutes both in practice and games. Ferris has forged a role as the top bench player in the Big Sky Conference, providing Dawkins with welcome relief and giving MSU a three-headed monster – along with senior Jasmine Hommes – in the post.
MSU forward Peyton Ferris runs the fast break
Last season, Ferris averaged 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds as she earned the inaugural Big Sky Top Reserve honor. She shot 44 percent from the floor and 55 percent from the free throw line.
“It’s helped a lot, being a guard, it helps outside shooting and ball handling and makes you more of a versatile threat,” Ferris said. “It’s something that’s not really new because I played a bunch of positions in high school and growing up. It will work at the college level and it has worked out a lot. At the college level, you see the four (power forward) is almost always about making smart reads.”
This season, with a year of health and a year of acclimation to the front court under her belt, the 5-foot-9 bruiser is eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game off the bench. Montana State moved to 6-0 in Big Sky play with a 66-58 win over Northern Colorado. Ferris scored 18 of her career-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.
“It’s so hard for (opponents) to guard her because she will either take it past you or she can step out to the 3 and she has a good percentage out there too so it’s definitely tough for teams to match up against her,” MSU sophomore forward Delany Junkermier said. “She’s a workhorse. She’ll end up with boards that you don’t know how she gets. We always tease her about how she probably has the most and-1s on our team and probably ever in this women’s basketball program. She’s definitely relentless and will never give up.”
MSU forward Peyton Ferris blocking out
Ferris’ game has reached new levels of efficiency this season during MSU’s hot start in league play. Ferris leads the league in field goal percentage at 61.8 percent, almost seven percentage points higher than second place. Ferris is also shooting 78 percent from the free throw line, the eighth-best average in the league. Her 6.1 rebounds per game are 16th in the Big Sky and three of them come on the offensive end per game. As MSU prepares to play at fellow unbeaten Eastern Washington on Thursday, Ferris is 7-of-12 from beyond the arc and she is shooting 64.3 percent against league opponents.
“Half of Peyton’s game right now is coming off the offensive boards,” Binford said. “I just think her personality, her second effort and her relentlessness is taking her game up a notch. She is certainly getting confident from the perimeter. Last year was more around the basket. Now you are seeing her knock down some open threes and things, keeping opponents honest.”
As a senior, Ferris led the Falcons to a 24-3 record and a third-place finish at the Class C tournament. She averaged 18.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.3 steals, 2.4 assists and 1.8 blocks. The four-time Class C first team All-State selection won her second straight district MVP. She averaged 27.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 blocks, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists as Twin Bridges won the Western C Division Tournament.
MSU forward Peyton Ferris finishes through contact
Each time Binford watched Ferris, she saw a versatile, talented player with a high basketball IQ who drew fouls at the basket frequently. She also saw a player who could step out and drill jump shots, all the while playing with a high motor that often times landed her in the doctor’s office or in the emergency room. Binford remembers going to see Ferris on several occasions and leaving with her future star requiring stitches or a trip to the clinic.
“She’s pretty darn tough,” Binford said. “That is probably the first word anyone would use to describe her. She’s physical, she’s competitive, relentless on the glass and really versatile with her ability to score points and how she does it.”
Four years into her college career, Ferris has reached a similar level of production against Division I talent. She has had the belief she could reach this point all along.
“I didn’t feel any pressure really,” Ferris said. “I just go out and play every game as hard as I can. If you are deserving of it, you will get it. I know the player I was and even through all the adversity I have been through, I knew that player has always been in there. It’s kind of nice it’s finally coming out.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Right Reserved.
