MSU-MSUN Boxscore
Montana State freshman Ashley Albert came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points to lead five MSU players in double-figure scoring as the Bobcats defeated MSU Northern 89-59, Sunday afternoon in Worthington Arena.
Albert, a 6-1 forward from Hamilton, connected on six field goals and added four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Two other freshmen made big contributions, as well.
Point-guard Ally Schmitt posted eight points, eight assists, three steals and three blocks, while Latisha Adams notched 11 points, two assists and two steals.
“We certainly weren’t focused with our first group at the beginning of the game,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “The second group, which was mainly our newcomers, came in and got us going. I thought Ally Schmitt did a nice job getting everyone on the same page.”
Montana State (6-2) trailed MSU Northern (3-7) early in the game as the Skylights jumped out to a 17-9 advantage at the 14:56 mark. The Bobcats chipped away at the lead and used a 13-1 run in the final six minutes to stake a 40-31 halftime margin.
In the second stanza, the Bobcats rattled off a 13-4 run to open the period and cruised to the win.
Also in double-digits for MSU were Sarah Strand 14, Lyndi Seidensticker 13, and Katie Bussey 12.
MSU finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field, including a 59 percent effort in the second half. The Bobcat defense limited the Skylights to 35 percent.
In addition, Montana State tied its school record of 11 blocks set in the season-opener against Cal State Bakersfield. Junior college transfer Beata Bak tallied five blocks to guide the Bobcats.
Montana State also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding MSU Northern 40-31. MSU was led under the glass by Bak with a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore redshirt Janette Jackson came off the bench to add nine rebounds, along with three points and three assists.
“I’m really happy with our assist-to-turnover ratio,” Binford said. “We did a good job taking care of the ball. However, I’m not pleased that we put them on the line 27 times. That is an area we really need to clean up.”
MSU logged 25 assists while turning the ball over on eight occasions.
MSU Northern connected on 20-27 free throws, while Montana State connected on 10-12.
The Skylights were led by Zivile Gaizutyte with 18 points and ten rebounds.
MSU will play at Boise State on Wednesday.