With her team trying to stave off a torrid comeback from a scrappy group of Bears, Peyton Ferris put the Bobcats on her shoulders and carried Montana State to its seventh straight win.
The Montana State women’s basketball team used its trademark swarming defensive style and unselfish offensive identity to storm to a 15-point lead in the second quarter during Saturday’s matinee in Bozeman. But visiting Northern Colorado began to chip away. In the third quarter, the Bears’ defense locked in full tilt and flummoxed the Bobcats, as MSU did not score a point for the first six minutes, 20 seconds. Alexa Dawkins scored four points during the quarter, the only four points until the waning seconds of the frame. Jasmine Hommes’ last-second shot careened off the rim but Ferris ripped down the first of five offensive rebounds and converted the put-back.
The score in the post sparked Ferris and MSU. The Twin Bridges native would score 15 of Montana State’s next 20 points. She scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, drilled both her 3-pointers and converted a 3-point play in key moments to lift MSU to a 66-58 win in front of 1,493 on Saturday. Ferris came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points as Montana State moved to 6-0 in Big Sky Conference play, 13-4 overall.
“A lot of my points come from offensive boards so that’s the main thing in my mind is to know I control getting around my defender and getting almost every miss,” said Ferris, the Big Sky’s Top Reserve as a sophomore last season. “That’s just my mindset because that turns into some of your easiest baskets when you get the ball under the rim with your defender beat.”
Montana State exploded for a 14-2 first-quarter run thanks to a pickpocket defense led by senior point guard Lindsay Stockton’s three first-frame steals. Northern Colorado committed eight turnovers in the first quarter and 12 in the first 14 minutes of the game.
The MSU lead swelled to 29-14 with 5:58 left in the second quarter. Ferris’ put-back to close the third quarter gave MSU a 39-32 lead. Ferris would answer the bell every time UNC cut into the lead further in the final frame. The Big Sky’s most efficient field goal shooter hit six of seven shots from the floor and both of her 3-pointers as Montana State moved to 8-1 at home this season.
“Sports-wise, this is something you crave growing up, playing at the college level, winning close games, stuff you see on TV,” Ferris said. “Especially in the third quarter, we were disappointed with how close it got. It felt like we were a little better but they were a good team. Being able to pull it out and keep our heads was great and I think we matured a lot in that sense.”
Ferris grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed jumper from Jasmine Hommes and converted the second chance on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Kyleigh Hiser’s third second-half 3-pointer cut the MSU lead to 41-40 with 8:03 to play. Ferris answered with a step-back 3-pointer. Katie Longwell hit her second of three fourth-quarter 3-pointers to cut it to one again but Hommes answered, drilling a step-back jump shot of her own. Hommes converted a second-chance old-fashioned 3-point play on the next possession to extend MSU’s lead to 49-42. Montana State led 54-51 with 3:25 before Ferris’ second 3-pointer. She hit 6-of-9 free throws, including five from the stripe in the game’s final 1:19.
“The timeliness of some of Peyton’s points were really important to us,” MSU 11th-year head coach Tricia Binford said. “She’s a physical warrior and she had a great day for us.”
Ferris is now shooting 61.8 percent from the field, the top mark in the Big Sky and one of the top 10 marks in the country. The 2011-2012 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year is now 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, a newfound weapon that makes her slashing, physical style even more difficult for opponents to slow down.
“My mindset is always is if they are not going to come out and guard me out there, I’m going to make them,” Ferris said. “I’m confident in my shot right now from the three. That opens up a lot more because they have to guard me up top and it opens up the middle.”
Ferris called the third quarter an “offensive struggle” and her analysis was spot on. MSU did not score until the 4:38 mark of the frame and made just 2-of-13 shots overall. The Bobcat defense ensured UNC would not mount a run by holding the Bears to 3-of-13 shooting. Dawkins provided the only offensive spark. The Bozeman High product scored four of her 12 points during the frame and hit key shots to buoy the MSU offense after the initial Montana State hot streak.
“Lexi is just one of the most steady, consistent players as far as knocking shots down, Binford said. “If you look at her numbers, she has to be at the top of the Big Sky in percentage (56.3 percent) She is reliable, consistent and she always has the hardest defensive assignment guarding the 5. We know her minutes are limited. I tell you what, she values those minutes and makes the best of them.”
In the third quarter, Northern Colorado employed defense that double and triple-teamed in the post in an effort to fluster MSU during a loosely called, physical contest. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Binford told her team, “I’m not going to call plays. You guys just need to run offense, get us some tempo back.”
With Stockton running the show and Ferris consistently dominating Rebecca Howell and Kianna Williams all over the court, MSU found its flow once more and gutted out its third straight conference sweep.
“We weren’t fluid and I think when you over play-call, things can get stagnant,” Binford said. “I really just wanted them to come out and step up. We really needed to step up at that moment and that is what maturity does for you.”
Ferris hit a free throw to give MSU a 61-53 lead with 53 seconds to play. UNC turned the ball over on the ensuing play, leading to a short outburst. UNC’s Kourteney Zadina essentially body slammed Stockton near midcourt. Stockton, ever the competitor with a quick temper, leapt to her feet and shoved Zadina. Zadina earned a flagrant foul, Stockton received a technical foul, both teams made each free throw and the lead stayed at eight, 63-55.
“We brought (Stockton) back and she regrouped so we will leave it at that,” Binford said. “I thought her ability to regroup and knock down her free throws was very important. And then we settled on the bench.”
Howell hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to five but Ferris put the game on ice by hitting 3-of-4 free throws. Hommes, Montana State’s leading scorer, shot 6-of-15 from the floor and finished with 13 points. Junior Riley Nordgaard, MSU’s third-leading scorer, went 0-of-12 this weekend. Sophomore Hannah Caudill was 1-of-5 from the floor and missed all three of her 3-pointers. Still, MSU completed the weekend sweep.
“We have a team that wants to win together,” Binford said. “When you play a team sport, you can’t do it by yourself. You have to have a lot of selfless kids who don’t worry about who’s getting the points or the stats. They just want to get the best stop and the best shot on the offensive end. I think what you are seeing right now is great chemistry. I think we have terrific chemistry and we are unselfish.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.