MISSOULA – In the press conference after her first ‘Cat-Griz experience, Esmeralda Morales acknowledged that coming to Dahlberg Arena as part of the rivalry was not the same as her previous trips with Portland State.
“It’s completely different,” Morales said. “(My teammates) were always telling me, you’re going to feel it, and I’m like, oh, OK. But when you get here, you feel it.”
That atmosphere – and the opponent – almost got the better of the Bobcats on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Griz fell behind by double digits late in the third quarter but battled back behind 21 points from freshman Avery Waddington, taking the lead twice in the final minutes.
With 4.6 seconds left and the score tied 66-all, Morales got into the paint, drew a bump and a foul on Waddington, then made one of two free throws.
Waddington’s layup attempt after a clever back-cut on the ensuing play fell off the rim, clinching – by the narrowest of margins – Morales’ maiden Brawl of the Wild triumph and the Bobcats’ 18th win in 20 tries this year as they moved to 8-0 in the Big Sky.
It was a win that didn’t resemble many of Montana State’s previous 17 victories this season.
Led by a composed 30 minutes from point guard Mack Konig, Montana generally handled MSU’s fearsome full-court press. The Bobcats, who averaged over 14 steals per game entering Saturday, had just six, and forced 17 turnovers in total – a solid total but well below their season average of just under 24.
Early, it looked like red-hot outside shooting – MSU started 9 of 15 from 3-point range – would carry the ‘Cats to the win. But they finished on an 0 for 7 stretch from downtown that coincided with Montana’s late comeback.
Instead, Montana State had to lean on its resilience to emerge with a win that, head coach Tricia Binford said, reminded her of a Big Sky Tournament game in Boise in March.
“The last couple games have felt like tournament games already,” Binford said. “Credit Montana. I thought they played a really good game and we had to weather a lot of storms today. The atmosphere got loud. Dahlberg did what it does. And we’re fortunate that we have some seasoned veterans with big moments and experience in situations. But we also have a freshman class that are fearless and don’t know any better.”
On Saturday, Montana State’s spine was best epitomized by two players who had a grand total of four minutes of Cat-Griz experience in Missoula entering the game.
Dylan Philip, who played those four minutes as a freshman two years ago before missing all of last season with an injury, made all three of her 3-point attempts and finished with 13 points.
After Konig made two free throws with under three minutes left to give the Lady Griz their first lead since the first half, Philip made a driving pull-up jumper from the baseline after fumbling the initial pass.
“She kind of had a fumbled pass, shot faked and took a little pull-up there, and that was a big moment,” Binford said. “She just makes the right plays at the right times and, you know, that’s what you need. You need a full team to handle those situations.”
And after Waddington made a 3-pointer with 1:31 to go to put Montana back up 66-64, Morales took over the rest of the game for MSU, cutting through the lane and taking a pass for the tying layup before getting Waddington off-balance enough to draw the foul on the ‘Cats’ final meaningful possession.
“I knew we were in the bonus, so it was either a mid-range if they were sagging (or) if they weren’t, I was like, I need to go to the free-throw line,” Morales said. “Just make it hard for the refs to call it. Be aggressive off the screen.”
The transfer point guard from Portland State finished with a team-high 17 points. It was her big-game experience with the Vikings that encouraged Binford to add the multiple-time all-Big Sky selection in the offseason.
“We had a lot of people returning but one of the areas we wanted was a playmaker,” said Binford, who moved to 21-21 against the Lady Griz in her 20 years at the helm for Montana State. “But more importantly, she just makes everybody on the court better. She has a composure about her, a calmness about her. It was a very physical game and she handled that extremely well.”
As Binford said, that’s the experience and the attitude that the Bobcats will need in Boise – and for the rest of the regular season. As they try to extend the best start in Big Sky history, Binford’s team will have a target on their back the rest of the way. On Saturday, in front of the toughest crowd they’ll face all year, they got a sneak peek of exactly what that will take.
“We’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” Morales said. “The preparation for each game needs to be consistent. It’s hard to win. So we have to come to practice with that mindset of going 1-0. So I think we’ve all been emphasizing that. It’s the little things, the small details, because it matters in these games.”
