Portland State rode the shoulders of Ashley Bolston who put up a game-high 29 points to lead the Vikings to a 69-65 win over Montana State, Thursday night to snap the Bobcats’ seven-game win streak.
Trailing by two points entering the second quarter, Montana State (18-6, 11-3) scored just nine points in the frame as Portland State (11-14, 5-8) entered intermission with a 37-29 advantage.
“We went cold,” said MSU 12th-year head coach Tricia Binford. “Our ball movement wasn’t great and we were extremely flat on the defensive end. It was a wake-up call and we need to do a much better job dictating things on the defensive end.”
The Vikings pushed its lead to 13 points midway through the third stanza, and held a 57-45 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to whittle PSU’s lead down to four points on an Annika Lai jumper with 5:54 remaining. A Peyton Ferris basket with 2:48 left pulled MSU to within 60-58, but Portland State converted just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bobcats.
Stay with the ‘Cats & the Griz at Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada March 5-12
“I’m proud of our fourth quarter effort,” Binford said. “But it all starts with energy and execution and we didn’t have that for all four quarters. We’re disappointed to let an opportunity slip away. I’d rather this happen now, and learn from it. We’ll move on. We need to put together four good quarters.”
Ferris and Hannah Caudill guided MSU with 15 points, apiece, while Riley Nordgaard added 12 points. MSU shot just 34.9 percent from the field, including an icy 25 percent in the second stanza.
MSU will play at Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon.
Press release by Montana State sports information director Tom Schulz.
