by By Tom Schulz
Montana State’s school-record 18-game win streak came to an end as Brigham Young handed the Bobcats a 72-58 setback, Thursday afternoon in the Marriott Center.
BYU (3-1) jumped out to an early 25-9 lead after the opening 10-minutes and stretched its advantage to 40-18 at intermission. In the second half, Montana State (1-1) played even with the Cougars in the third stanza, trailing 62-37 heading into the final quarter. MSU outscored BYU 21-12 in the final frame behind an 11-of-13 effort from the line.
Montana State finished the contest connecting on 29-33 from the stripe, including a 20-23 performance in the second half.
“We’re a real young team and growth is a process,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “We’re still trying to find our identity and we showed some nerves digging ourselves a pretty deep hole from the start.
“I am proud of our second half effort,” Binford added. “I thought we played more aggressively. We were able to play a lot kids and this will help us build confidence going forward. We certainly have a lot of work and learning to do as BYU tested in a variety of ways.”
Sophomore Darian White paced Montana State with a team-high 16 points. The product of Boise, Idaho also added four steals and three rebounds. Also hitting double-digits for the Bobcats were Kola Bad Bear (Crow) and Tori Martell with ten points, apiece.
BYU held a slim 35-33 advantage under the boards. MSU was led under the glass by Bad Bear and Katelynn Limardo with six rebounds, apiece.
As a team, Montana State shot 26% (13-50) from the field and were three-of-20 (15%) from long distance.
The Cougars hit at a 48.1% clip, including a 14-31 effort from beyond the arc. BYU was led in scoring by Shaylee Gonzales with 18 points, including four 3-pointers.
Montana State will play Utah at 5 p.m. on Friday in Huntsman Center.
