Cats Fall to Washington in NCAA First-Round: Ferris Goes out on Top

Saturday, March 18

Seattle, WA

7 p.m.

Montana State University

25-7

Washington

28-5

Montana State

Washington

Peyton Ferris matched a career-high 33 points as MSU faced Washington in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

Cats Fall to Washington in NCAA First-Round: Ferris Goes out on Top

3/19/2017 1:25:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

With two-minutes and 39-seconds left in the game fans of both teams stood in ovation as Bobcat senior and Big Sky MVP Peyton Ferris fouled out of her final game in the Blue and Gold, matching a career-high 33 points. Ferris’ outstanding effort wasn’t enough as MSU fell to Washington 91-63, Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before 8,059 spectators in Alaska Airlines Arena.

By: Tom Schulz

The biggest ovation of the night belonged to Montana State's Peyton Ferris.

With two-minutes and 39-seconds left in the game fans of both teams stood in ovation as Bobcat senior and Big Sky MVP Peyton Ferris fouled out of her final game in the Blue and Gold, matching a career-high 33 points. Ferris' outstanding effort wasn't enough as MSU fell to Washington 91-63, Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before 8,059 spectators in Alaska Airlines Arena.

"I just want to start off by saying how proud I am of this team and what they were able to accomplish this season led by these two to my left (Riley Nordgaard and Ferris)," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford in her post-game press conference. "I can't think of a more exciting team or a more fun team to have coached.

"We just addressed it back there (locker room) and unfortunately there is only one team that can finish with a win," Binford stated. "It is always hard to finish a season on this but at the same time we promised that we would give a great effort and we definitely left it all out there. I just want to give a ton of credit to the University of Washington. They are a very, very talented team and they certainly showed that. We want to wish them the best going into the tournament."

Montana State (25-7) showed no signs of being intimidated by the Washington crowd, taking an early 4-0 lead and holding a 17-16 advantage after the first quarter as Delany Junkermier canned an off-balanced three-pointer at the buzzer.

"There was energy (in the first quarter)," Ferris said. "You come out and your shots feel good and are hitting the back rim but you know you go out and play hard and keep going at it. We played good and kept it close but then they went on a run and we never fully got back from it."

MSU went cold in the second half hitting just two-of-11 from the field as Washington (28-5) outscored the Bobcats 22-10 to take an 11-point advantage into intermission.

Ferris finished the opening half with 19 points, including a seven-of-eight effort at the free throw line. MSU held the nation's leading scorer Kelsey Plum to 12 first-half points.
Washington used a 13-2 run with five-minutes remaining in the third frame, sparked by seven points via Chantel Osahor, to build a 19-point cushion. Plum poured in nine points in the final period to put the game away.

Plum finished with 29 points, while Osahor recorded 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds.

"Our game plan going in was to try and take away the three-point line and the foul line and we obviously didn't do the job on the foul line," Binford said. "She (Plum) just was really, really good. We knew we weren't going to keep her off the scoreboard so we were trying to get more jumpers and keep her in the twos range. We didn't do the job we wanted to do."

Plum finished shooting 10-of-20 from the field and eight-of-eight from the line, but was held to one-of-seven from long distance.

Ferris completed the contest with 33 points, connecting of 10-of-28 from the field, including three 3-pointers. The Twin Bridges product also went 10-of-12 from the line. Ferris also hauled down seven rebounds and added two steals and an assist.

"You are looking at the Big Sky MVP, without a doubt," Nordgaard said. "Peyton is by far the most talented player I have ever had the pleasure of playing with. I have learned a ton from her and I am going to miss her. I think what she did tonight, battling through an adverse week, she is just tough. This kid gets it done no matter what. I am really proud of her and really proud of this team."

Nordgaard was the only other Bobcat in double-digits recording 10 points, including a pair of triples. The Canby, Minnesota native also pulled down seven boards and dished out three assists. Freshman Blaire Braxton guided MSU under the boards with a team-high nine rebounds.

Montana State finished its best season in Bobcat history with a school-record 25 victories and energized the Bozeman basketball community with its 25-game home win streak – the fourth longest in the nation.

"We definitely need to thank our entire community," Binford said. "This has just been an amazing week and what everybody has done including our president, our university, our administration, the spirit squad and band, and just the whole spirit of Montana State got to be showcased tonight and this week.

"Our fan base has been fantastic all season long and it is one of the things my family truly appreciates about Bozeman the most," Binford continued. "It is why we love it at Montana State. We are family and our family is the entire community, the university, the athletic department, and to have that crowd there was very, very exciting. One of the things I told the team in the locker room afterwards was our crowd and community is just as proud of them as they were last week."