BOZEMAN — The Montana State women's basketball team is off to a strong 6-2 start this season, powered by a talented group of sophomores who are making their mark on the court.
Taylee Chirrick, a Roberts product, continues to be a standout performer for the Bobcats. The sophomore guard recorded a triple-double in the Cats' 99-57 win over North Dakota — the program's first triple-double since 2004 — and leads the team in scoring this year after earning Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year honors last season.
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"Gosh, where do you start? I'm like, first of all, a triple-double? Been a long time since we've seen a triple-double," Montana State coach Tricia Binford said Saturday after Chirrick posted a stat line of 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Fighting Hawks. "And Taylee just continues to repeat and steps on the floor and impacts the stat sheet. And she's always going to set the tone for us on both ends of the floor. But she is a tremendous competitor."
Chirrick, who is averaging a team-best 18.9 points per game, isn't the only sophomore making waves. Addison Harris ranks second on the team in scoring with 18 points per game, while Teagan Erickson sits third after posting a career-high 27 points against North Dakota last week.
"We just have a very intense group of girls. Like, we all want to win and we all have very tenacious personalities," said Erickson, a sophomore from Saco. "So just getting out and even in practice, just giving it our 100%, going nine out of ten every day at practice and just pushing each other to be better, for sure."
The team's chemistry extends beyond just the sophomore class, with younger players stepping up alongside veteran leadership.
"We also have these underclassmen that are coming in working their butts off. And then same with our upperclassmen just being leaders for us. So, I think all around our team is just improved and everyone stepping up," Chirrick said.
Montana State doesn't have a single senior on the roster. Ella Johnson, Isobel Bunyan, Brooke (nee Berry) Fatupaito, Dylan Philip and Drea Brumfield are the juniors, and Courtney Smith, Heidi Smith, Jamison Philip, Grace Hintz, Brianne Bailey and Kadynce Couture make up a large freshman class.
Fatupaito and Dylan Philip are currently sidelined with injuries. The freshman Jamison Philip starts alongside Chirrick, Harris, Bunyan and Johnson.
"We might be young, but I've always said this team is young and fearless," Binford said. "And when you have a team that's going to compete that hard, particularly on the defensive end, you're always going to give yourselves a chance."
The Bobcats, who lead the nation with 17.6 steals per game, face big upcoming tests against Oregon, Oregon State and Hawaii before Big Sky Conference play begins Jan. 1.
The Cats play on the road at Oregon in Eugene on Dec. 14 and then face Oregon State and Hawaii Dec. 19 and 20 at the Maui Classic in Makawao, Hawaii.
"There's just a few things that we can fix, which is super exciting, honestly, because we're being so successful now," Chirrick said. "And so just knowing that there's still things for us to improve on is honestly super, super exciting. These next couple weeks to just find those little things to improve, it's going to be fun."
