Big Sky Conference

Montana State women fall in Grand Forks to UND

on

Jasmine Hommes had a turnaround jump shot similar to those she has knocked down prolifically during her Montana State career on Friday afternoon. Hommes’ final shot in Grand Forks carried more weight. The Montana State senior’s turnaround from eight feet in the waning seconds of MSU’s game at North Dakota rimmed out and now the Bobcats will wait to learn their fate.

Hommes’ shot would’ve lifted Montana State to second memorable comeback in the span of a week. Instead, MSU fell 77-76 to UND, the hottest team in the league with 13 wins in its last 15 games. The Bobcats scored six points in 8.5 seconds to send the game to overtime in an 82-80 overtime win over Idaho State.

The UND victory secures the No. 4 seed in next week’s Big Sky Tournament for the Fighting Hawks. The loss denies Montana State its first outright conference championship in program history.

Montana State’s second straight loss drops the Bobcats to 14-4 in Big Sky Conference play after a 12-1 start. MSU fell at Northern Colorado on Thursday, the first time the 21-8 squad has lost back to back games this season. Despite the defeat in Greeley, MSU still clinched a share of the Big Sky title because of Eastern Washington’s loss to Idaho State.

If Eastern Washington defeats Weber State Friday night in Ogden, the Eagles will win the outright Big Sky title. If EWU loses and Idaho State beats Idaho in Pocatello, the Bobcats and the Vandals will share the Big Sky title. If both EWU and ISU lose, Montana State will win its first outright Big Sky title.

MSU shared the conference crown in 1993, 2002 and 2003. MSU won the Big Sky tournament in 1993, earn its first and only trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Leading 43-32 at the 7:38 mark of the third stanza, North Dakota (17-12, 13-5) got a layup by Leah Szabla. Following a turnover by MSU senior Lindsay Stockton, UND’s Makailah Dyer converted a layup and was fouled by MSU sophomore Delany Junkermier. Dyer’s free throw went errant and MSU sophomore Hannah Caudill corralled the rebound for the Bobcats; however, Szabla tied the ball up. Caudill released her grip, but was called for a technical foul.

Dyer connected on two free throws to pull the Fighting Hawks to within 43-38. UND received the ball due to the technical and Lexi Klabo hit a jumper as North Dakota cut an 11-point deficit to just three points in a span of one-minute, 17-seconds.

UND rode the momentum and Samantha Roscoe’s half-court shot at the buzzer evened the score at 55-all heading into the fourth quarter. Hommes’s bucket with 5:59 left gave MSU a 61-60 lead but the hosts answered with a 10-2 run to take a 70-63 lead, its largest, with 1:44 left.

Two three-pointers by Junkermier and a triple by Caudill with nine-seconds left pulled MSU to within 77-76. UND missed three free throws and were called for a lane violation to set up Hommes’ final shot.

“I’m proud of our comeback at the end,” MSU head coach Tricia Binford said in a press release. “This team never gives up. However, I thought the turning point in the game was our lack of composure and discipline in the third quarter. We’re above that, and we need to be steady with our mentality.”

Szabla scored 20 points to pace UND. Peyton Ferris scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead MSU. Junkermier scored 16, Hommes scored 15 points and Caudill scored 11 to go with six assists.

MSU will be either a No. 1 or 2 seed at the Big Sky Conference Tournament starting on Monday in Reno, Nevada. With a top four seed secured, Montana State will not play until Wednesday, March 9.

“Everyone hits the reset button,” Binford said. “It will be nice to get some rest and healed-up. I have no question about this team’s fight and we’ll be ready to roll come Wednesday.”

Montana State will fly directly to Reno from North Dakota on Saturday evening.

 

 

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.

Recommended for you