by Tom Schulz
Arizona State went seven-of-12 from the field and converted four free throws, while Montana State missed its first nine attempts and a pair of charity tosses as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 20-0 advantage in the opening seven minutes, en route to a 79-64 win over the Bobcats on Tuesday night in Worthington Arena.
“We were on our heels from the start,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “We were not attack-minded, and our ball pressure was inconsistent.”
Montana State (2-1) freshman Dylan Philip hit a baseline jumper at the 3:11 mark to break the Bobcats’ scoring drought. Arizona State (3-0) held a 25-7 lead after the first quarter shooting 56.3% from the field, while the Bobcats connected on three-of-13 attempts.
The Sun Devils took its largest lead at 38-11 with 6:47 remaining in the second stanza on a Treasure Hunt three-pointer. The Bobcats chipped the margin down to 46-27 at intermission.
MSU outscored ASU in the third and fourth quarters but would get no closer than 14-points in the waning moments following at Mattie Olson baseline triple.
“We were pretty undisciplined tonight,” Binford said. “We will learn from the experience, and I believe there won’t be many games where the lid is on the basket like it was in the first quarter.”
Kola Bad Bear (Crow), Leia Beattie and Lindsey Hein led MSU with nine points, apiece, as the Bobcats finished the game shooting 30.6% from the field, including two-of-16 from long distance.
MSU out-rebounded ASU 43-37. The Bobcats were led under the glass by Beattie and Marah Dykstra with seven and six rebounds, respectively.
