BOISE, Idaho — Montana State's matchup against rival Montana in the second round of the Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament Sunday wasn't over before it started, but the second-seeded Bobcats had an even clearer advantage than before.
No. 8 seed Montana was still ailing from the illness that's been circulating through the team — point guard and top scorer Mack Konig was unable to play this time — and the Bobcats took full advantage, running past the Lady Griz 78-57 at Idaho Central Arena to advance to the tournament semifinals.
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It's hard enough contending with MSU's pressure defense and run-and-gun tempo when you have a full complement of players. And the Bobcats, who whipped Montana twice in the regular season by an average of 27.5 points, weren't slowed in this matchup as UM starters Avery Waddington, Jocelyn Land and others were clearly not in top form.
"We knew Montana wasn't at 100% today, so the kids that were out there competed extremely hard," MSU coach Tricia Binford said. "But we just wanted to come in here and set the tone with our defense. We came out super strong. We put four quarters together and we had great bench contribution."
The Bobcats got contributions up and down their lineup, with four players reaching double-digit point totals and nine finding the scoring column altogether. Big Sky MVP Taylee Chirrick filled the entire stat sheet with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Addison Harris added 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Teagan Erickson chipped in 12 points, Ella Johnson delivered 10, and Brook Fatupaito and Brianne Bailey added nine apiece. Collectively, the Bobcats had 20 assists on 30 made field goals. Jamison Philip dished out five assists.
Erickson had 10 points in seven minutes in the first half while Fatupaito scored all of her nine in the same amount of court time. Erickson and Fatupaito shot a combined 8 for 8 in the first half.
Fatupaito continues to find a niche after battling injuries earlier in the year.
"I just think the whole time coach Bin has always had confidence in me and just being like, 'When you come back we're going to need you in that role,'" said Fatupaito (née Berry), a Billings Skyview graduate. "So that was really encouraging. Being able to return was such a blessing."
True to form, MSU also forced 15 opening-half turnovers (26 total), including four steals from Chirrick — also the league's defensive player of the year — that gave her the single-season team record for swipes with 129.
Konig missed the game outright for the Lady Griz, and Waddington, the team's No. 2 scorer and leading roubounder who missed Saturday's first-round win over Northern Arizona — didn't make it very long through the first half and played just six minutes. Land was also under the weather, and coach Nate Harris was below par himself.
Rae Ehrman hit four 3-pointers and scored 17 points to pace the Lady Griz. Draya Wacker added 15 points with three 3s of her own.
"I thought every kid we put out there left what they had out there to try to fight their way through it," Harris said.
"You always wish you were 100% this time of year, but life happens. I thought people really, really played hard and seized the opportunity they had. Obviously it's frustrating, but life's going to happen and you have to answer the bell anyway."
It was the 19th all-time postseason meeting between the Bobcats and Lady Griz, and was a rematch of last year's Big Sky championship game in which Marah Dykstra made a buzzer beater to send MSU to the NCAA tournament.
The Bobcats (24-6) have now won six straight in the rivalry and 18 of the past 22. They will play in the semifinal round on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
The Lady Griz finished the season with a 9-22 overall record in Harris' first full season as head coach.
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 9
Game 3: No. 1 Idaho 66, No. 9 Weber State 52
Game 4: No. 2 Montana State 78, No. 8 Montana 57
Monday, March 10
Game 5: No. 4 Idaho State vs. No. 5 Sacramento State, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Northern Colorado vs. No. 6 Eastern Washington, 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 11
Game 7: No. 1 Idaho vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 8: No. 2 Montana State vs. Game 6 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 12
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3 p.m., championship
