by Montana State senior Kola Bad Bear was named co-Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for her effort as the Bobcats defeated Montana 75-73 to sweep its season series with its intra-state rival on Saturday afternoon in Worthington Arena.
The graduate of Billings Senior set the tone early, scoring her first basket 11-seconds into the game. Bad Bear went on to match a career-high with 23 points, connecting on 9-of-11 from the field. In addition, she went two-of-two from three-point range and was three-of-three at the line.
“Our posts had a phenomenal day and Kola really helped us set the tone early,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “Kola embraced her role as a senior leader and was laser focused all week. She works extremely hard and its great to see her having a such an outstanding season. I also love the passion she plays with, and her love for the game is evident in her smile on the court.”
Bad Bear notched 10 points in the opening quarter converting five-of-five from the field. She ended the game just as strong posting seven points in the final frame which included all three free throws with two minutes remaining. She also finished the game with four rebounds and three steals as MSU notched its 19th victory of the season to stay 1 ½ games ahead of Northern Arizona in the league standings.
