BOISE, Idaho — As Brianne Bailey's 3-point attempt hung in the air — and as the game hung in the balance — Montana State's Addison Harris sensed divine intervention.
The play, after all, was initially designed for Harris to shoot with the Bobcats trailing by three points and time winding down in regulation.
"I swung her the ball and yelled, 'Shoot it!'" Harris recounted. "I'm watching this happen in slow motion because I'm like, 'We're in trouble here.' I'm pretty sure I saw God reach down. (It went) straight through the hoop, perfect swish. Never seen anything better."
Yes, Bailey's long, tying 3 with seven seconds left in regulation saved No. 2-seeded MSU from an early exit in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament, and the Cats went on to beat No. 6 Eastern Washington 79-77 in overtime at Idaho Central Arena.
The win sends defending-champion and No. 2-seeded MSU on to the championship game against top-seeded Idaho on Wednesday. It will be the Bobcats' third title-game trip in the past five years and the ninth appearance in program history.
Of Bailey's shot, which stemmed the tide of the Bobcats seeing a 19-point first-half lead dissipate, Taylee Chirrick said, "As she shot it I'm like, 'Please go in, please go in, please go in.' And bang, it was in."
With the game tied 74-74 in OT, Ella Johnson made 1 of 2 free throws with 56 seconds left to give the Bobcats the lead. Chirrick fought for an offensive rebound off Johnson's miss, and Bailey also had a key offensive rebound in that sequence to set up two Chirrick foul shots and a 77-74 advantage.
Ella Gallatin scored on a driving layup to pull EWU within 77-76 with 11.4 seconds left. The Eagles' Elyn Bowers and MSU's Harris traded a free throw each, and the game ended when Jaecy Eggers' shot underneath didn't fall just before the buzzer.
"It was a great look," a disappointed Eggers said afterward.
"We played a pretty good defense," EWU coach Joddie Gleason said of Bailey's tying 3. "We call it no-3s defense. They were able to hit a 26-footer with somebody in your face. So bad luck, I guess."
Montana State led by as many as 19 points in the first half, but Eastern, which also lost by two points to the Bobcats in both regular-season meetings, never went away.
That, in turn, forced Montana State to find another gear.
"It's one of those things," Bobcats coach Tricia Binford said. "There's a feeling of getting tight and tense, of, you know, this could be our last game in Boise. And you've got to play to win it, not be afraid to lose it, and I think we finished it and played to win it."
The momentum began to change hands in the third quarter, and things got especially hairy for the Bobcats in the fourth.
A 3-pointer by Caitie Gingras with 1:55 left in regulation gave Eastern Washington a 63-60 lead. Harris answered on the other end for Bobcats, but after an EWU timeout Gallatin hit jumper off an inbound pass to give the Eagles a 65-62 advantage with 59 seconds remaining.
Issy Bunyan then hit a floater — after Eastern was called for traveling following a Chirrick miss — and it was again a one-point game with 31.1 seconds on the clock.
Gallatin cashed in two free throws for the Eagles with 18.9 seconds left, making the score 67-64. MSU's Jamison Philip then drove unabated for an easy layup with 14.3 ticks to go.
Bowers stepped up and made two foul shots, but that set up the long pull-up 3-pointer by MSU's Bailey with seven seconds left. The Bobcats then forced a jump ball to regain possession— though EWU's Gleason wasn't granted a timeout — but a shot by Chirrick before the horn missed and the game went to overtime.
Chirrick led MSU with 26 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Harris added 17 points and seven rebounds while Bailey came off the bench to contribute 10 points, including the game's biggest shot.
EWU's Bowers, an exciting freshman from Pinedale, Wyo., had 23 points and five rebounds. Gallatin came through with 17 points and nine rebounds before fouling out and Eggers collected 19 points and eight rebounds. Billings product Kourtney Grossman, the nation's fourth-leading rebounder, had eight points and nine boards.
Montana State improved to 25-6 overall with the victory, and the championship clash with Idaho on Wednesday will be the rubber match after the teams split two regular-season matchups.
Eastern Washington was eliminated from the tournament with a 15-18 overall record.
Big Sky women's tournament scoreboard
Saturday, March 7
Game 1: No. 9 Weber State 76, No. 10 Portland State 53
Game 2: No. 8 Montana 61, No. 7 Northern Arizona 60
Sunday, March 8
Game 3: No. 1 Idaho 66, No. 9 Weber State 52
Game 4: No. 2 Montana State 78, No. 8 Montana 57
Monday, March 9
Game 5: No. 5 Sacramento State 62, No. 4 Idaho State 53
Game 6: No. 6 Eastern Washington 55, No. 3 Northern Colorado 53
Tuesday, March 10
Game 7: No. 1 Idaho 59, No. 5 Sacramento State 51
Game 8: No. 2 Montana State 79, No. 6 Eastern Washington 77, OT
Wednesday, March 11
Game 9: No. 1 Idaho vs. No. 2 Montana State, 3 p.m., championship
