(Editor's note: Montana State University media release)
OGDEN, Utah – After being held scoreless at Idaho State on Thursday night, Montana State senior Oliana Squires righted the ship with her best outing of the season, guiding the Bobcats to a 102-67 win over Weber State on Saturday afternoon in the Dee Events Center.
Squires, a product of Colorado Springs, Colo. posted a season-high 21 points, connecting on seven-of-11 from the field, including a five-of-five effort from beyond the arc. Squires also dished out four assists and had one steal.
“That’s what good players do,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford, referring to Squires’ breakout performance. “That also shows the strength of our team. On any given night, we have multiple players contributing to our success.”
Montana State (17-6, 13-1) jumped out to a 20-16 lead after the opening quarter and pushed the margin to 12 points heading into intermission. The Bobcats shot 55.2% from the field in the first half and had ten steals, which resulted in 11 points. Weber State (3-21, 1-14) shot 61.1% percent in the opening 20-minutes but turned the ball over on 12 occasions.
“We talked about picking up our defensive intensity at halftime,” Binford said. “Credit Weber State for taking advantage of some of our miscues. We tweaked a few things and despite giving up ten offensive boards, I thought we were pretty efficient on both ends of the floor.”
The Bobcats scored 31 points in the third period to put the contest out of reach. Squires and Madeline Smith each tallied eight points, while Darian White added seven. MSU shot 64.7% from the field in the third frame. Montana State scored 14 points inside the paint and turned six WSU turnovers into 13 points to give the Bobcats a 25-point cushion going into the final quarter.
MSU built its largest lead at 97-60 with 3:36 remaining as sophomore Gabby Mocchi nailed her first three-pointer of the season from the top of the arc.
Also scoring in double-figures for MSU were Fallyn Freije 18, White 15, Martha Kuderer 14, and Smith 12. The Bobcats connected on a season-high 38 field-goals, while matching a season best 11 three-pointers.
For the game, MSU shot 59.4% from the field, 57.9% from beyond the arc and 78.9% from the line. The Bobcats also matched a season-high 52 points scored in the paint.
Weber State was led by Daryn Hickok with 18 points and five rebounds.
The Bobcats pushed its winning streak to nine straight, just one shy of matching the 2010-11 squad that captured ten consecutive outings- the most in the Binford era. Eight of MSU’s 13 league victories have come on the road.
MSU begins a four-game homestand when it hosts Portland State on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena.
