BOZEMAN — Montana State beat Black Hills State 82-38 in its women's basketball home opener Monday with help from a crowd of over 5,000 people, mostly made up of young Bobcat fans.
The Bobcats hosted a "school day" game with various schools in the area making the field trip over to Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
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MSU head coach Tricia Binford said she felt like her team was feeding off of the crowd's energy.
"It's one of those things (that) shows you where you're at without a coach making a call because you're not going to hear a call," Binford said. "You're not going to hear anything from me and (they were) able to play off of each other."
Binford referred to the game as a super fun day.
"Thanks for everybody that showed up and helped make it work," Binford said. "I hope the kids had a great time. What a great way to get involved within your community, and we're really grateful."
For one Bobcat, "kids day" has an extra special meaning.
Montana State guard Brooke Fatupaito is in her final semester of elementary education.
"I'm a student teacher at Hawthorne (Elementary School) in first grade," Fatupaito said. "We've been looking forward to this field trip day for a long time, so it's just so fun to get to see them. They were sitting right by our bench, so I could hear them the whole time."
The phrase "pass it to 20" and "go 20 go" was frequently heard throughout the game.
The kids day game gives young members of the community a chance to see what they can maybe accomplish themselves one day.
"I think we all just know what a great privilege it is, especially in Bozeman, Montana, there's not a lot to do around here but cheer for the Cats," said Fatupaito, who finished with two points, two assists, and two rebounds. "So we know that we're role models for this younger generation, and we just hope that we can be great role models for them."
And there may have been some faces in attendance that MSU fans will see again.
"We've had a lot of basketball lessons at recess," Fatupaito said, "so maybe we will see some future Cats someday."
The Bobcats put on a show for their young fans, with 11 players contributing to the day's scoring. Brianne Bailey led the offensive efforts, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in her first game as a member of Montana State’s starting lineup. Preseason All-Big Sky selection Addison Harris also reached double-digit scoring with 14 points, and Jamison Philip added 10 points.
Next up, Montana State will host Portland on Sunday at 2 p.m.
