Delany Junkermier caught the ball in transition and let cast a 3-pointer that found nothing but the bottom of the net, her fourth straight in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, Hannah Caudill drilled a step-back 3-pointer as the first quarter clock expired. The Montana State women were officially on fire.
Montana State scored 27 points in the first quarter and 51 in the first half behind 10-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc. The long range shooting calmed a bit after intermission but Montana State’s overall offensive execution helped the Bobcat women cruise to an 89-66 victory over Cal State-Fullerton on Thursday night.
MSU guard Delany Junkermier
“We keep thinking more teams are going to zone us but we are definitely respected for our shooting ability and it showed in the first half,” Montana State 11th-year head coach Tricia Binford said after her team moved to 5-2. “I think we have one of the best passing teams there is. With great passing teams, you can find really good shooters easily.”
Four Bobcats reached double figures scoring, led by junior Peyton Ferris’ 19 points off the bench. Junkermier, a sophomore, added a career-high 18 points, senior point guard Lindsay Stockton scored 14 points and junior Riley Nordgaard scored 13 points. Montana State shot 57 percent in the first half, 51.5 percent after halftime and 54.4 percent overall. The Bobcats notched 25 assists on 37 shots, executing their up-tempo offense to near perfection all evening in front of a crowd of 1,068.
“That was definitely one of the best executed games this season, especially with keeping our turnovers down,” Binford said after her team committed just 12 turnovers. “I thought we did a great job of taking care of the ball.”
The win moved Montana State to 5-2 this season. The Bobcats have scored at least 80 points in all but one of their wins. The loss dropped Cal State-Fullerton to 2-6, a mark that includes an 84-69 win over Portland State and a 60-40 loss to Weber State. The Titans are coached by Montana State alum Daron Park. The second-year head coach is a Great Falls native who spent four years as Mick Durham’s first student manager for the MSU men’s basketball team in the mid-1990s.
Cal State-Fullerton head coach Daron Park
“It was surreal,” Park said. “Aside from the loss, it was one of the greatest days of my life, really. I spent so much time here. I bleed blue and gold, there’s a Champ bobble head in my office. I’m a Bobcat. The locker room we were in was our old locker room. This used to be our bench. It was just special. I told Trish thank you a billion times. She was the one who reached out and suggested it. I jumped at the chance. This was a chance to come home.”
Park’s connection to Montana State has remained strong. He is good friends with Durham and his brother, Mark. Mark’s daughter, Kalli, was an MSU senior last season and Park followed her career. So the Titans had a good idea of what sort of firepower Montana State possesses offensively.
“They definitely can make open shots,” Park said. “The three kids who can really shoot it — 15 (Nordgaard), 12 (Junkermier) and 23 (Caudill) — we talked about really trying to have coverage on them. Because we are so young, we are playing a lot of zone, switch and confuse you and get you out of rhythm. If you go one pass, shot, it doesn’t matter what sort of rhythm you find.”
The Titans start true freshmen Michelle Berry, Dani Craig and Jade Vega. Berry led four double-figures scorers with 19. Craig hit 5-of-12 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Fullerton shot 54.2 percent in the first half but made half as many 3-pointers in falling behind by 17. In the second half, MSU outscored CSF 38-32 because the Bobcats made 2-of-8 3-pointers.
“We tried to talk about identifying them a little sooner, try to get there and get coverage a little sooner,” Park said. “But I don’t know if they were as aggressive in the second half shooting it from three. I’m not sure it was anything we did.”
MSU guard Hannah Caudill in-bounding to forward Alexa Dawkins
Montana State’s offense operated so efficiently because of deft passing and a quick ability to recognize when to shoot. Montana State took nary a noticeable bad shot among its 68 field goal attempts. Of the Bobcats who scored, only Caudill had an off shooting night, missing all four of her shots after her triple to end the first frame. But she offset the shooting struggles with 10 assists, including a few one-handed dishes to Ferris inside.
“Her passing has been off the charts, really consistently,” Binford said. “What I chart is created opportunities and her created opportunities are probably 15, 16 range right now. She makes teammates look good, finds openings and really high instinct as far as her ability to make plays.”
Ferris frequently sealed her defender with Ferris facing the rim so when she caught the ball, the defender was on her back and she could finish at the rim. The former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year from Twin Bridges made her first seven shots and converted eight of nine overall. She scored 19 points in 20 minutes.
“She’s turning into a pretty special player,” Binford said. “Introducing her to the post last season, she’s getting really comfortable there.
“She’s on a mission, crashing heavy, creating a lot of shots for us. I love her physicality and I love her effort.”
Montana State plays at Gonzaga in Spokane at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
