Today in Bobcat Women’s Basketball:
March 11-13, 2010 @ Big Sky Tourney in Cheney, Washington
Sat., March 13 (6) Montana State vs (5) Portland State
Venue/Tip Reese Court, Cheney, WA, (5,000), 3:00 pm (MST)
Live Radio: My 103.5 FM (www.my1035.com)
Live Stats: www.goeags.com
Twitter Feed: follow “msubobcats”
Live Webcast: ............................... www.B2TV.com
Live Television Championship on Saturday - Altitude TV
Next Up:
The Montana State women’s basketball team will face the number five seed Portland State for the championship of the Big Sky Conference Saturday afternoon at 3:00 (MST). Montana State enters Saturday’s game with a 18-13 overall mark, after finishing 9-7 in Big Sky Conference action. As the lower seed, MSU will wear their blue jerseys for the third consecutive day in the tourney. This marks the first time in the history of the BSC tourney that the five and six seeds have met for the championship game. MSU last won the conference championship in 1993 and last played in the title game in 2008 against Montana.
Last Night's Win:
Last night’s win over Eastern Washington gave the Cats a 16-14 record overall in conference tournament play. The win also gives Coach Binford a 5-3 record in BSC tourney play. Sarah Strand’s 17 points in the game puts her one point short of the #15 spot on MSU’s career scoring list. She currently has a career 1017 points. She is also one three-point shot away from the #10 spot on the career three-point makes list.
A Look at the #5 Portland State vs. #6 Montana State:
Portland State earned their way into the championship game by defeating Idaho State in the opening round, 75-61 and number two seed Montana in round two, 62-47. The two teams split during the regular season with each team winning at home. At Portland, the Vikings outscored MSU 43-21 in the second half to erase a 15 point MSU halftime lead and beat the Cats, 69-62.Claire Faucher had a 28 point effort for PSU in the game. Katie Bussey led the Cats with 16. At Bozeman, PSU led by two at the half but the Cats outscored the Vikings 43-31 in the second stanza for a final win of 83-73. Perry led the Cats with 17 in that game.
PSU is led in scoring by 5-9 senior guard Claire Faucher who averages 13 points per game in 31 minutes per game. In the two games against MSU, Faucher tallied 39 points. She is a three-time all-conference selection and a 2010 unanimous first-team selection. Montana State leads the conference in shooting percentage at 43 percent and PSU is second at 41 percent. In rebounds, which will be a key point for tonight’s game, PSU holds the edge on the offensive end (13.6 rpg) and MSU ranks higher on the defensive end at 27.8 per game. Montana State is 28 for 36 from the free throw line during the tourney. PSU is 24 for 28 including seven-for-seven against Montana.
The game will be broadcast on Altitude Sports and Entertainment (Direct TV 681; Dish Network 410).