MONTANA STATE SPORTS INFORMATION
Montana State used a strong second quarter and held on down the stretch to record a 50-46 win over Wyoming Wednesday afternoon in front of 6,012 fans, the second largest crowd in Bobcat history. The victory also gave MSU head coach Tricia Binford her 200th career win.
Montana State’s win is its 28th straight at home, marking the second-longest home winning streak in Division I. UConn’s women have won 68 straight at home. More than 5,000 school children from around the area attended the game, which tipped at 11 a.m.
“It was not perfect and we made mistakes, but we were able to close the deal and grind out a win,” Binford said. “Wyoming is a good team, and that was a good win. I thought we really showed our potential in the first half. We had it clicking on defense and offensively, we started putting it all together.”
After an even first frame, Montana State (4-2) rattled off 18 unanswered points to take a 29-11 advantage at the 2:47 mark on a jumper by sophomore Madeline Smith. The run was sparked by senior point guard Hannah Caudill who connected on four 3-pointers.
The Bobcats entered intermission with a 31-16 lead after holding Wyoming (4-3) to just five points in the second quarter and an icy nine percent from the field.
MSU guard Delaney Junkermier (12)
The tables turned coming out of halftime as the Cowgirls limited MSU to five points in the third quarter. However, the Bobcat defense remained stingy and went into the final period with a 36-27 cushion. Wyoming whittled the margin down to 42-40 with 4:16 remaining on a layup via Bailee Cotton. The Bobcats responded with back-to-back buckets by Delany Junkermier and Rebekah Hatchard to push the lead back to six points with 3:03 left.
A pair of Cowgirl triples sandwiched by a Caudill free throw make gave MSU a 47-46 advantage with 14 seconds left. Caudill then converted two free throws with 13-seconds left, and a Junkermier charity toss with three seconds left secured the win.
Caudill guided the Bobcats with 19 points, including a 4-of-5 effort from long distance. Junkermier finished with nine points and five rebounds, while sophomore Blair Braxton led MSU under the glass with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with six points and five blocks.
Cotton led Wyoming with 11 points and five rebounds.
MSU travels to Hawaii on Thursday and will play in the Oregon State/Maui Classic against Utah State on Friday and Nevada on Saturday. The Cats will close out action in the south Pacific at Hawaii on Monday night in Manoa.
Press release written by Montana State SID Tom Schulz. Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
