Big Sky Conference

Montana State women face challenging road trip

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 The last time the Bobcats went on one of the Big Sky’s toughest road trips, Peyton Ferris had to fly alone.

The All-Big Sky performer did not make the strip with the Montana State women’s basketball team to Northern Colorado and North Dakota initially. She flew to Denver and drove to Greeley for MSU’s Thursday game at Northern Colorado, the first of four straight losses to end an otherwise banner year for the Bobcats.

It’s safe to say Ferris, the preseason Big Sky MVP and recently anointed Big Sky Player of the Week, remembers just how difficult this road swing is, sick or not.

Montana State senior Peyton Ferris/ by Brooks Nuanez

Montana State senior Peyton Ferris

“We’ve had things happen on and off every road trip but this is a tough one because it’s a lot of flying mixed in with driving,” Ferris said of the UNC-UND road swing MSU will embark on Wednesday morning. “In the winter time, the last time we went to Northern Colorado, our flight got cancelled on the way back. You just hope for good weather so there’s no delays. Last year, I was sick so I had to fly down the day of the game without the team. This is probably one of the trips where it’s rarely a normal trip. You just have to stay focused on basketball.”

Montana State starts its spring semester on Wednesday. The Bobcats were scheduled to fly to Grand Forks on Wednesday afternoon but the flight was changed to 5 a.m. Those sort of factors are out of MSU’s control, 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford said. She’s more worried about taking on the Big Sky’s last two undefeated teams.

“It’s a great opportunity to see what we are made of this week for sure,” Binford said. “This will be one of the most challenging road trips of the season.”

The reigning Big Sky Conference champion Bobcats enter Thursday’s game at North Dakota with a 10-4 record that includes three league wins in four outings. MSU posted a weekend sweep of Eastern Washington (88-83 in overtime) and Idaho (80-64) to push its home record to 6-0 this season.

Montana State 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford

Montana State 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford

“I thought our energy on Saturday was fantastic after OT on Thursday,” Binford said. “We made a priority of keeping fresh legs and quicker rotations because we knew we were going to be stretched. We knew we would have to guard Idaho around the perimeter. I knew the team would respond to that challenge.”

UND is also 4-0 in league play against the same four league opponents — Portland State, Sacramento State, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah — and 9-6 overall. The Fighting Hawks are second in the league averaging 73 points per outing and UND’s +5 rebounding margin ranks third in the league behind Idaho State and MSU.

Northern Colorado has been one of the best teams in the Big Sky in Kami Etheridge’s third season at the helm. The Bears are 12-3 overall and 4-0 in league play. UNC’s losses have come to Colorado, Colorado State and Saint Mary’s. Savannah Smith, Savannah Scott and Courtney Smith all average double figures scoring for a team that is averaging almost 19 assists per game.

 

“It should be a fun weekend,” said Ferris, who averaged 26 points per game last week and ranks third in the BSC at 16.8 points per game. “This is what college basketball is about. You want to show up, play great teams and have great games. This is an opportunity for us to go knock off the last two teams that are undefeated.”

Rebounding margin has been key for MSU all season long. The Bobcats have won 10 of the 11 games they have grabbed more rebounds than their opponent. Idaho State a 53-38 advantage on the glass in its 67-59 win over Montana State in Pocatello two weeks ago. Binford said hanging on the glass with Travis Brewster’s traditionally physical UND squad will again be pivotal for MSU.

Montana State freshman Blaire Braxton has been one of MSU's top rebounders this season

Montana State freshman Blaire Braxton has been one of MSU’s top rebounders this season

“I think North Dakota is up there as well as one of the best rebounding challenges,” Binford said. “On their home court, it’s going to be a huge assignment and task.

“North Dakota will be physical, rebound at a high level and have a tremendous atmosphere. They are pretty tough.”

Ferris and fellow senior Riley Nordgaard continue to lead the Bobcats. Ferris is cashing in on 52.1 percent of her field goal attempts, including drilling nine of her 17 3-point attempts. Nordgaard has drilled 21 3-pointers at a 39.6 percent clip in averaging 13.4 points to go with a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.

Annika Lai, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Boulder, Colorado, has emerged as a dangerous threat off the bench. She is averaging 10.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in Big Sky play. She scored a career high 15 points in MSU’s win over Idaho.

“She’s been getting really confident,” Binford said. “She is playing two different positions. When she is at the 4, she is getting more opportunity to get things down hill on penetration. When she’s at the guard, she has the opportunity to backdoor and be confident with her outside shot.”

Montana State has a chance to earn redemption after last season’s sweep at UNC and at UND this weekend. Two wins this weekend could propel the Bobcats atop the standings. But Binford wants her team to treat the trip like any other weekend, home or away, regardless of what sort of adversity pops up.

“We just need to treat this weekend exactly like we did for Eastern and Idaho,” Binford said. “Friday is about recovering your bodies but also mentally locking into what the game plan is. We will try to keep it as simple as possible for the team.”

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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