MONTANA STATE-BOISE STATE BOXSCORE
Montana State head coach Tricia Binford received a cool reception in her return to her alma mater, Boise State, as the Bobcats dropped a 74-68 decision to the Broncos, Wednesday night in Taco Bell Arena.
Binford, who was a three-time All Big Sky Conference selection at BSU, also received an icy night from the Bobcats as MSU hit 37 percent from the field, including 16 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
“We had an off night from the perimeter and we didn’t stay patient with our offense to get us the looks we needed,” Binford said. “We need to learn that when we face teams that are more physical, being patient will help us in the long run.”
Montana State (6-3) was paced by Katie Bussey with 15 points. The sophomore from Alamosa, Colo., connected on four-of-11 from the field. She also went two-of-six from three point range, after entering the game ranked second in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage.
Also in double-digits for the Bobcats were Erica Perry 14 and Sarah Strand 10.
Boise State (8-2) established an early 23-10 lead at the 10:30 mark of the opening period and held the margin until the Bobcats rattled off an 11-1 run in the final four minutes to close to within 32-29 at intermission.
In the second stanza, the Broncos built another 13-point cushion at 53-40 with 10:41 remaining on a Kinzi Poteet layup. MSU responded to clip the deficit to 60-54 with 5:12 left on a Perry basket.
BSU quickly answered back building its largest lead at 72-58 with 2:18 remaining following a Jessica Van Hoogen three-point play.
MSU finished the game on a 10-2 run to make the final score respectable.
“I really liked the way we finished,” Binford said. “I thought we showed a lot of grit throughout the game, and that is something we need to carry over into our game against Washington State on Friday night.”
Boise State finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field, including 60 percent from three-point range.
The Broncos also held a 40-35 advantage in rebounding. The Bobcats were paced under the boards by Beata Bak with a career and game-high 14 rebounds.
Bak, a junior transfer from Miles Community College, also posted six blocks to tie the school record held by Alaina Bauer and Sarah Strand.
Boise State was paced by Van Hoogen with 28 points and eight steals.
MSU will host Washington State on Friday night at 7 p.m., in Worthington Arena.