Bobcats moving up

For the first time since 2004, the Montana State Bobcats are advancing in the Big Sky Tournament.

Seniors Rebecca Mercer and Krislyn Wallace both scored 19 points, and freshman Sarah Strand added 13 as Montana State defeated Northern Arizona 84-78 in a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal Thursday night at Dahlberg Arena. 

Montana State will now face Idaho State in the tourney semifinals tonight.

It was the fifth-straight win for the Bobcats (17-12), who converted eight free throws in the final 30 seconds to pull away from a late Northern Arizona offensive push.

“I credit my team down the stretch,” said Montana State head coach Tricia Binford. “I feel like we’ve been at our best the last five minutes of the ball game, and that’s where it came down to tonight.”

Despite allowing Northern Arizona’s senior Laura Dinkins to explode for 15 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes, it was Montana State who established control in the first half, using 22 combined points from Mercer and Wallace as well as a stingy 2-3 defense to build a 42-36 halftime lead.

But the Lumberjacks never went away, and after Sade Cunningham’s pull-up jumper gave Northern Arizona their first lead at the 15:12 mark of the second stanza, neither team would lead by more than three points until the final 30 seconds. The war of attrition intensified with just under four minutes to play, as both teams’ leading scorers answered each other on the offensive end. Dinkins’ rebound put back at the 3:31 mark gave the Jacks a 69-68 lead, and Mercer converted a conventional 3-point play on the next possession to give the Bobcats a two-point cushion. With the game knotted up at 75 with just under two minutes to play, Northern Arizona went stagnant on the offensive end, and Montana State proceeded to use six straight Erica Perry free throws to put its first-round win on ice. 

“Our team really stepped up and hit the shots they needed to down the stretch, and made the stops they needed to down the stretch,” said Binford, alluding to her team’s production in crunch time.

Montana State shot 42 percent from the field and posted five players in double figures. Perry scored 12 and former Billings Central standout Jenny Herringer added 11. Nubia Garcia also had a strong floor game, contributing eight points, eight boards and three assists. Northern Arizona controlled Montana State on the boards, 47-35, and also had a balanced offensive attack. Cunningham and Janelle Matthews scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

It was a fine finale for Dinkins, whose final line was 28 points, 14 rebounds and two assists.

“I know one factor coach was emphasizing was rebounding,” said Dinkins after her final game. “I had to help our team give my team second and third chances. I needed to go to the offensive glass.”

“We didn’t have an answer for Dinkins,” said Binford of the second team all-conference performer.

The Bobcats produced 28 points off of 22 Northern Arizona turnovers, along with scoring 23 points on second-chance opportunities. Binford’s club was also efficient at the foul line, especially in the second half, where the Bobcats made 16 straight en route to shooting 19-21 overall.

Montana State will now turn their attention to tonight’s semifinal against Big Sky Conference Player of the Year Natalie Doma and a potent Idaho State squad, which averaged 75.4 points per contest this season.

The Bobcats’ first tournament win since 2004 tastes sweet, according to Perry, but the squad is hungry for more going into Friday night.

“We were so excited to be there,” Perry said of playing against Northern Arizona. “We made it, and now we have to keep going. We can’t settle. We have to put 40 minutes together.”

Tip off is slated at 5:35 p.m. In the late semifinal, No. 1 seed Montana will meet Portland State.