BOZEMAN, Montana — Her smile said it all.
As Kola Bad Bear drilled a 3-pointer with the third quarter dwindling — a triple that gave her team its first double-digit lead against a rival Bad Bear and her classmates have dominated so thoroughly — the Montana State senior forward flashed her megawatt smile as the 3,444 in attendance reached a crescendo.
Bad Bear’s triple with 40 seconds to go in the third quarter pushed Montana State’s lead to 50-40. The Bobcats would extend the advantage to as many as 14 midway through the fourth quarter before a barrage of 3-pointers from Montana’s precocious underclassmen made the final margin of victory less than this group of Bobcats have become accustomed to in games against Montana.
But a win is a win and a rivalry win is even that much sweeter, especially for Bad Bear and her senior classmates. The Billings Senior product saved her best rivalry performance for her last, painting one of the most beautiful pictures of her memorable career.
“I felt it immediately, how special this day was, immediately after the game,” Bad Bear said. “It felt so good to have the last one on the home court here to play the Griz. Honestly, when I hit that shot at the end of the third quarter, I saw (senior point guard) Darian (White) and she was screaming ‘Let’s go!’ and she had been telling me before the game that she was going to give it to me. So I shot it.”
Bad Bear set the tone early, posting up Lady Griz senior Carmen Gfeller with authority, catching the ball in the paint at will and hitting her first five shots of the game.
By the time the final buzzer sounded in Montana State’s 75-73 win over Montana, Bad Bear had etched a masterpiece and this group of Bobcat senior checked yet another box on a resume that they collectively hope ends with the affirmation as the greatest class in school history.
“Every win feels good feels good, but this win, especially being against the Griz and our rival felt REALLY good,” Bad Bear said. “It was just a really fun game.”
Bad Bear converted nine of her 11 field goal attempts, including a pair of dagger 3-pointers that halted two Lady Griz runs. She scored 23 points and helped Montana State remain undefeated against Montana in Bozeman since 2014.
“We thought they were going to play behind in the post and I think any team that plays our posts behind is making a mistake,” White said. “We recognized that immediately and we wanted to keep calling plays for them because Kola was going off, she was confident out there. We kept calling those plays and they dominated tonight and it definitely showed.”
White, MSU’s indomitable senior point guard, chipped in 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Montana State beat Montana for the seventh time in the last eight meetings between these current players, extending the rivalry success to 12 wins in the last 14 matchups against Montana overall.
“It takes a mentality, for sure,” said Montana State 18th-year head coach Tricia Binford, her hair and suit soaked from a post-game celebration. “It’s your approach to the game. You have to be mentally prepared, physically prepared, super focused. This team is growing in that every day we step on the floor. I feel like our practices right now, they are as hungry as ever. I think we are extremely locked in and that’s what it takes for a game like this.”
“This family here is really special and we want to celebrate the opportunities we have to celebrate with the people we have behind us and who support us.There’s no prouder moment with coaches when we get to do that with our leaders and I’m just extremely proud of our team today on both ends of the floor.”
Bad Bear, White and Madison Jackson have been on a mission to lead Montana State to great heights since their impactful freshmen seasons that ended in disappointment. That year, all three contributed to a senior-laden squad that ripped off 19 Big Sky Conference wins in 20 league contests, winning the outright league title for sixth time in program history.
But that team never got to go to the Big Dance. Instead, a worldwide pandemic meant a class of six seniors led by Big Sky MVP Fallyn Freije, who was in attendance in Bozeman on Saturday, home without the banner and trophies they deserved.
Since that abrupt cancellation, Bad Bear, White and Jackson have constantly talked about playing to honor those that came before them.
Last season, after winning the Big Sky Tournament, White read a letter she had written in homage to the seniors that helped her initiate herself to the league. Bad Bear also paid homage to that group.
Now Montana State is in pursuit of a repeat. And with Saturday’s win over the Lady Griz, Bad Bear and her classmates have rivalry bragging rights forever.
“When you have a rivalry game like this and you have a lot of people in the building and you know it’s going to be very emotional, it’s nice to know you have seasoned veterans that have been through this experience and you can just put the ball in their hands and let them finish, let them take over,” Binford said. “There were definitely moments when (White and Bad Bear) did that.
