Story Links WBB NOTES – NAU NEXT UP: The first significant matchup of the Big Sky season happens Saturday, Jan. 11, when Montana State meets Northern Arizona at 2 p.m. in Flagstaff. Both squads enter 3-0 in league play, have NET rankings of 71 and 90, respectively, and are ranked No. 14 and No. 19 […]
NEXT UP: The first significant matchup of the Big Sky season happens Saturday, Jan. 11, when Montana State meets Northern Arizona at 2 p.m. in Flagstaff. Both squads enter 3-0 in league play, have NET rankings of 71 and 90, respectively, and are ranked No. 14 and No. 19 in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Coaches’ poll. The game also features the Big Sky’s top offense (NAU- 80.4 ppg) against the league’s top defense (MSU- 55.0 ppg).
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Montana State is 13-2 overall and 3-0 in Big Sky play after defeating Northern Colorado 68-57 on Thursday night in Greeley. Esmeralda Morales and Marah Dykstra paced the Bobcats with 15 points, apiece, while Lexi Deden chipped in 13 points. MSU shot a BSC season-best 50% from the field against the Bears. MSU also held UNC under 60 points- which marks the tenth time this season the Bobcats have accomplished the defensive milestone. In MSU’s last six games its opponents have not score over 60 points.
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is 12-4 overall and 3-0 in league action after defeating Montana 65-46 on Thursday. Northern Arizona allowed the least amount of points this season to the Lady Griz, holding UM to 28.8% from the field. Three players scored in double figures for NAU, led by Taylor Feldman with 24 points. Feldman shot 7-of-14 from the field, 3-of-8 from three-point range and 7-for-7 from the free throw line while leading the team with three assists. Sophie Glancey added 15 points while Nyah Moran scored 10. Saniyah Neverson led all players with 12 rebounds and, along with Moran, led the team with three steals. Glancey picked up two blocks and six rebounds as well.
SO MUCH WINNING: In the last five seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 72 Big Sky wins since the 2019-20 campaign. They are followed in the top five by Northern Arizona (63), Idaho (59), Idaho State (57), and Montana (57).
300 CLUB: With its 75-60 win over Weber State on Feb. 9, 2023, MSU head coach Tricia Binford notched her 309th career win, moving her past former Weber State bench boss Carla Taylor (308 -23 years). With MSU’s 92-84 victory at Eastern Washington on Dec. 31, 2022, Binford became just the third coach in Big Sky history to record 300 wins- all coming as a member of the league. Binford is second to Montana’s Robin Selvig (865, 38 years). In Big Sky play, Binford is second to Selvig (358) with 210 victories. Binford is MSU’s winningest coach – men/women. This season marks Binford’s 20th with the Bobcat program. She is currently 342-251 overall and 210-127 in Big Sky Conference play.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25: For the third consecutive week, Montana State is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major top 25 coaches’ poll. The week the Bobcats moved up one spot to No. 14 with 350 points. Saturday’s opponent, Northern Arizona, is ranked No. 19 with 214 points. Harvard held on to the No. 1 spot. The Crimson received 28 first-place votes and 770 total points. Montana State made its debut in the 2024-25 CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll on Dec. 18, after defeating No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 58-49 in Fort Myers, Fla. Oral Roberts, who defeated the Bobcats 82-80 in overtime as part of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Dec. 7 in Tulsa, is currently ranked No. 20.
