The formula has been simple for the Montana State women’s basketball so far this season. When the Bobcats earn an advantage on the glass, MSU usually posts a victory.
Montana State has won the rebounding margin in nine of its 12 games so far this season. The Bobcats have only lost one game, a 70-62 setback at UC Davis, in which they grabbed more rebounds than they opponent.
Montana State head coach Tricia Binford and her team
“When we consistently rebound the ball, we will be excited about the outcome,” MSU 12-year head coach Tricia Binford said during MSU’s first press conference of 2017 on Tuesday afternoon in Bozeman. “We need to be more consistent on the road, especially in that aspect. Rebounding for us is extremely important.”
Over the weekend, Montana State extended its winning streak to seven games and moved to 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play by dominating the glass against athletic Weber State. In Ogden, the Bobcats grabbed 46 rebounds, 20 more than the host Wildcats. Sophomore Annika Lai led the charge with 10 rebounds in MSU’s 83-68 victory.
On Saturday, Montana State’s winning streak ended in Pocatello. Idaho State grabbed 53 rebounds to MSU’s 38 and the Bengals posted a second straight win over the reigning Big Sky champion Bobcats. ISU won the fourth quarter by 10 points to earn a 67-59 victory Saturday about nine months after ending MSU’s Big Sky Tournament run in the quarterfinals thanks to a half-court buzzer beater last March.
“We just were not solid on the defensive end throughout that game,” Binford said on the Big Sky coaches’ conference call Tuesday morning. “We are just making it challenging to give ourselves an opportunity to win when we are giving up that many rebounds. Idaho State leads the conference, crashes the boards extremely well, a physical team but I really felt our game plan going in, we were doing exactly what we wanted to do on offense. We just didn’t get enough stops and stops most times come down to rebounds.”
Montana State senior Riley Nordgaard, No. 15, leads MSU with 7.3 rebounds per game
Freya Newton grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and Grace Kenyon had nine rebounds for the Bengals, who completed the home sweep and started Big Sky play 2-0. The Bengals were able to beat the Bobcats despite shooting 36.9 percent from the floor, including making just four of 23 shots from beyond the arc.
“The returners from last year were definitely fired up for last weekend and it stings again,” said MSU senior Riley Nordgaard, who had 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds against ISU.
“It’s never fun to lose, especially going 0-2 the last two times. I wasn’t super happy about it. I know the girls weren’t. It was a pretty quiet bus ride. But it’s a good challenge, some good adversity early on to show how our younger players how we can bounce back and react moving forward.”
Montana State lost its starting front court in power forward Alexa Dawkins and center Jasmine Hommes, the latter the Big Sky’s MVP last season, to graduate in the off-season. But Binford and her staff, particularly associate head coach Nate Harris, put an added emphasis on winning the rebounding battle all throughout the off-season and into MSU’s non-conference schedule.
“They’ve definitely put an emphasis on it and they tell us they don’t want to make us beat each other up at practice but they will if we need to,” said Nordgaard, a 5-foot-10 forward who is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game. “It’s doing the little things, hitting the weight room, being strong, being aggressive and letting that carry over to games.”
MSU forward Jasmine Hommes and ISU forward Anna Policcicio fight for a rebound at the Big Sky Tournament in Reno
Under Binford, a former All-Big Sky point guard at Boise State who played in the WNBA, the Bobcats have had one of the most efficient and explosive offenses for most of the decade. Hommes and Dawkins were among the smoothest scorers in the league the last few years but neither would be considered a dominant rebounder.
The MSU coaching staff knew the Bobcats could upgrade in that specific area with young players like freshmen center Blaire Braxton and forward Madeline Smith. Braxton leads the Bobcats with 85 rebounds (7.1 per game) and has started all 12 games. Smith is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game in 15 minutes of action per outing.
“They are phenomenal,” Nordgaard said. “Talk about talented freshmen who work their butts off. That directly shows in their stat lines. The are physical, they are big and they both have a nose for the ball.”
“We knew Blaire, that was her No. 1 strength when we were recruiting her,” Binford said. “She was always really quick off the floor, great timing, a physical post player. Madeline was more of a skilled offensive player. I was not sure she’d be rebounding at this high of a level early on but that’s something that needs to continue.”
Montana State hosts Eastern Washington at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Thursday night. The Bobcats host Idaho on Saturday afternoon.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
