THE MATCHUP
Montana State did not play a game after January 1 until playing on Monday. MSU posted a 79-69 win over Idaho in its first of four home games in seven days. On Thursday, the Bobcat women’s basketball team hosted a Northern Arizona team that came to Brick Breedin Fieldhouse with a 4-1 record.
THE RESULT
Montana State’s (9-8, 4-2) balanced effort kept Northern Arizona (7-7, 4-2) at bay as the Bobcats found points in the paint and from beyond the arc. MSU scored 30 points in the lane and hit 10 3-pointers on the way to an 88-73 victory to move over .500 and keep pace in the Big Sky Conference race.
THE STANDOUTS
Montana State junior point-guard Darian White continued stacking up the superlatives during her outstanding career. The mighty mite connected on a left hand floater in the paint as time expired in the third quarter to become the 26th Bobcat in the history of MSU women’s basketball to surpass 1,000 career points milestone.
White’s double figure effort was just one of five for the Bobcats. Katelynn Limardo hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points while Leai Beattie connected on three triples and scored 14 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. Kola Bad Bear chipped in 13 points while Madison Jackson converted all four of her field goal tries on the way to 10 points.
All five NAU starters scored in double figures, led by Khiarica Rasheed’s 16 points. Regan Schenk added 13 points and six assists for NAU, a team led by head coach Loree Payne, a Havre native.
QUOTABLE
“Darian is a special kid and a special talent,” said Ellen Kreighbaum Women’s Basketball Coach Tricia Binford. “To hit that milestone midway through her junior year is a pretty amazing accomplishment. There is so much left to her career and we’re really super proud of her. She impacts our team in more ways than 1,000 points.”
“It’s been huge to be at home,” Binford said. “We’re in a rhythm now that we were missing a little bit earlier. I think we’re playing with a lot more energy. We’re playing with a lot more heart and passion and it’s showing.
“We’ve been playing a little faster pace and tempo and that’s a traditional Montana State style. We’ve got some things that continue need cleaning up. Obviously, we don’t want to give up 73 points. NAU is a hard match up and there’s a reason they lead the conference in points.”
“Rotating our kids and playing a deeper bench to have the legs and lungs and the energy has really impacted our rebounding ability,” Binford said. “I think having Maddy Jackson back in the line-up gets us one deeper in the guard rotation and that’s been tremendous.”
SOCIAL
BOX SCORE (Click)
WHAT’S NEXT
MSU hosts Portland State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Worthington Arena.
