The Bobcats continued to roll, setting some all-time marks in the process.
Behind a career night from Haley Blodgett, a swarming defensive effort and another thoroughly balanced offensive performance, the Montana State women’s basketball team stayed in first place in the Big Sky Conference with an 87-66 win at Southern Utah on Saturday night.
The victory moves Montana State to 12-1 in Big Sky play, 19-5 overall. The 12 Big Sky wins are the most in a single season under 11th-year head coach Tricia Binford. The 19 wins tie Binford’s 2011-12 team for the most in her tenure.
Blodgett, a 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman, tied Sarah Balian’s six-year-old school record by blocking seven shots. She played a career-high 21 minutes and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
“Haley is a great help on the defensive end, and because of her size, we don’t have to throw a double-team,” Binford said. “Offensively, she’s getting more comfortable. It was important for us to give our bench quality minutes, while at the same time resting bodies.”
Junior Riley Nordgaard led a Bobcat offense that shot 46.4 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. Nordgaard scored 17 points and nabbed four of Montana State’s 12 steals. The Bobcats forced 26 Southern Utah turnovers. Nordgaard also grabbed nine rebounds.
Senior Jasmine Hommes converted 7-of-16 from the floor and scored 15 points in 19 minutes. Junior Peyton Ferris came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 13 rebounds in 19 minutes. Sophomores Delany Junkermier and Hannah Caudill each scored nine points and each went 3-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc as MSU hit 11-of-27 3s overall.
“The strength of the team is that we have kids that can step up at any given time,” Binford said. “As coaches, we got out of their way and just let them play the game in the second half. It was great team basketball.”
Southern Utah owned a 50-39 advantage on the glass and snared 23 offensive rebounds. The Thunderbirds scored 18 second-chance points. But 32.4 percent shooting for the game doomed SUU. Taylor Baird scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Southern Utah. Dari Frandsen scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds but was just 3-of-11 from the floor. Ashleigh Munns and Jamie Smith each scored 11 points but combined to hit just 5-of-19 shots.
Montana 61, Northern Arizona 57 — The Lady Griz experienced their first four-game losing streak since the 1998-1999 season, a skid capped by a 61-52 loss at rival Montana State. Since the rivalry defeat, Montana has been unbeatable.
In Flagstaff, Kayleigh Valley scored 26 points, Hannah Doran scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Montana won for the fourth straight time to move to 8-5 in Big Sky Conference play. UM is 15-9 overall.
NAU got 13 points and 11 rebounds from Alyssa Rader but fell to 2-11 in the Big Sky, 6-18 overall.
With second-leading scorer McCalle Feller on the bench with an injury, Montana head coach Robin Selvig played just seven players on Saturday. Doran, a senior who normally comes off the bench, played the full 40 minutes. Junior center Alycia Sims played 35 and Valley played 34.
