BOZEMAN, Mont.—A strong start to the second half for Montana State dimmed the hopes of Idaho's Big Sky Tournament chances on Saturday. The Bobcat offense could not be cooled down in the opening 10 minutes, shooting above 80 percent, in Montana State's 71-62 win at Worthington Arena.
Idaho's 32-30 halftime lead disappeared in the opening seconds of the half. Alexa Dawkins evened the score up at 32 and Jasmine Hommes tied it again at 34 with a minute gone by. Christina Salvatore hit a triple to put Idaho ahead 37-34 at the 18:27 mark. Both sides traded swings over the next 2:43, with Idaho holding the one-point advantage, 43-42.
Montana State's Ausha Cole opened a 10-0 run, scoring five consecutive points. The Bobcats jumped ahead 52-43, closing their run with a Hommes jumper with 11:35 to play. The Vandal defense stepped up over the next five minutes, holding MSU to seven points on 4-of-10 shooting. Idaho drew within two at 59-57 off an Ali Forde layin with 5:53 left to play. The score stood frozen until the 2:57 mark when Hannah Caudill broke the scoring drought with a pair of free throws. Idaho went 0-for-4 from the field during the scoreless period, while MSU was 0-for-5.
“I thought we played hard enough to win today,” head coach Jon Newlee commented. “We just did not execute offensively. We missed at the rim like we have seen all year long. That game was a two-point game for close to four minutes and we did not take advantage of the fact that we were stopping them every time down. That was the time to take this game by the throat.”
Montana State (14-14, 8-9) now holds the immediate tie-breaker with Idaho for the Big Sky Tournament seeding. The Vandals stand on the outside looking in after play on Saturday. Idaho will enter the final week of the regular season ninth in the conference, needing some assistance to climb into the end of season tournament.
“There certainly is still a scenario where we can make the tournament,” Newlee said. “We are going to have to have some things happen above us in the conference go in our favor.”
Idaho (12-15, 6-10) got yet another 20-point performance from Stacey Barr. The Aussie senior finished Saturday with a game-high 23 points. She shot 8-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-6 from long range. Barr was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe on her way to her 19th game of 20 or more points. Salvatore finished with 13 points, nine of which came from 3-point range. Brooke Reilly closed her 34 minutes with her first double-double of the season. The sophomore recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds on the afternoon.
The Bobcats got points from all over the floor, including a team-high of 20 from Kalli Durham. Hommes finished the day with 14 points and Peyton Ferris added 11.
Despite being outshot 40.0 to 38.7 percent in the opening half, the Vandals led 32-30 at the break. The tightly played first half featured two lead changes and three ties. The Vandals gained the 15-13 lead off a Barr jumper with 11:15 to play. The Bobcats tied it at 17, before a Salvatore 3-pointer put the Vandals in front for the remainder of the half. Idaho's largest lead of the game was five thanks to a Connie Ballestero inside cut to the basket at the 7:02 mark.
The Vandals return to Cowan Spectrum to close out the season. Idaho will host Weber State on Thursday and Idaho State on Saturday. Barr and fellow senior Maren Austgulen will play their final home-game against the Bengals and will be honored as part of the Senior Day festivities.
NOTES
Idaho has now hit a 3-point field goal in 225 consecutive games…the team has lost two in a row for the fifth time this season…Idaho is now 6-9 in black uniforms this season…Saturday marked the third game of the season Idaho has lost after leading at halftime…Ballestero moves into eighth all-time with 332 career assists.
