MISSOULA — Montana State started slow, surged and then survived, eking out a 67-66 win over rival Montana at Dahlberg Arena on Saturday.
In the end, the Bobcats extended their winning streak to 11 games, but the victory didn't come easy.
Photos: Montana State Bobcats survive Montana Lady Griz in Brawl of the Wild
"We had to weather a lot of storms today," Montana State coach Tricia Binford said. "Atmosphere got loud, Dahlberg does what it does. We're fortunate that we have some seasoned veterans in big moments and experienced situations, but we also have a freshman class that are fearless and don't know any better."
The Lady Griz shot a better percentage from the floor (45.3% to MSU's 39.7%) and made more 3-pointers (11 to MSU's nine), but, like they have all season, the Bobcats dominated the turnover margin (17 to eight), especially in the third quarter when they gained some separation. Montana committed five turnovers in the period, as Montana State ramped up its full-court press.
With MSU holding a 41-38 lead midway through the third, Katelynn Martin hit a 3-pointer — her second of the quarter — to make it a 44-38 game. UM's Tyler McCliment-Call made a free throw, and then MSU scored the game's next nine points — two from Taylor Janssen, a 3 from Dylan Philip and four Esmeralda Morales free throws.
The result was a 12-3 run over 3:30 of game action that gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 53-41.
Montana flipped the script in the final minute of the quarter, turning an MSU turnover into a big 3-pointer from Aby Shubert that made it 53-44 going to the fourth.
Then it turned into the Avery Waddington show. The Montana freshman scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, as the Lady Griz came storming back. Waddington scored UM's first nine points of the fourth, then she and McCliment-Call made back-to-back 3s to bring the Lady Griz within 60-59 with four minutes to play.
Morales pushed the lead back to 62-59 for the Bobcats, but Shubert and Mack Konig made four straight free throws for UM, and the Lady Griz were suddenly up 63-62 with less than three minutes remaining.
"I don't think there was ever a moment we went in the huddle and we thought we were going to lose that game," said Montana State's Marah Dykstra. "It's just keeping that confidence and composure no matter what the situation."
Philip sank a baseline jumper on the Bobcats' next possession, and Waddington answered with another 3 to give Montana a 66-64 lead with 1:31 to play.
Montana State knew exactly where to go on the ensuing possession, putting the ball in Morales' hands, who tied the game at 66. Following a series of turnovers and a Waddington missed 3, Morales again had the ball in crunch time.
The standout guard got Waddington into an isolation, danced around her in the key and drew a foul on a difficult layup attempt. Morales split the two free throws to give Montana State a 67-66 advantage.
Waddington's game-tying attempt off a sideline out-of-bounds play came up short, and the Bobcats escaped with the win.
"There's the difference with being the underdog and the team with the bullseye on your back, and we're in the situation where we know everybody's going to be coming at us, and we expected that," said Binford, who is now 21-21 all-time versus Montana. "We certainly had some breakdowns today that we need to get better at because teams are getting better. We need to make sure we are, as well."
Morales finished with a team-high 17 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead Montana State, which also got 13 points from Philip and 11 from Dykstra. Martin had nine points on three 3-pointers, and Taylee Chirrick had eight points and three steals.
Waddington had a game-high 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a 3-for-7 mark from 3-point range, for the Lady Griz. Dani Bartsch had a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds, and McCliment-Call added 10 points.
"We're a team that if we play right and continue down this path and stick together, we're a team that can compete against anyone and can be ... a problem when you get to March, but there's a lot of hard work that goes into that," said Nate Harris, Montana's acting head coach while Brian Holsinger is on leave. "Like next week when we go on the road, Portland State's not going to care that we played a close game with Montana State. They're going to prepare to beat us the same way that we're going to prepare to beat them.
"And so, playing close ... I'm proud of our kids and I think it shows what we're capable of, but at the end of the day, we're here to be great, and we're going to continue to work on that."
Both teams will next play on Jan. 30, with Montana State (18-2 overall, 8-0 Big Sky) playing at Sacramento State and Montana (7-12, 3-5) playing at Portland State.
