by Tom Shultz
Montana State junior Leia Beattie posted a career-high 27 points, while Grace Beasley 16 and Kola Bad Bear (Crow) 13 also chipped in double-digits as the Bobcats rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to notch a 74-65 overtime victory over San Jose State on Tuesday night.
Montana State (4-1) held a 17-15 lead after the first quarter, before San Jose State (1-3) opened the second period scoring 15 unanswered points.
Enter Beattie.
With three-minutes remaining in the quarter, the guard from Midland, Texas hit a pair of pull-up jumpers, followed by a Bad Bear layup. Beattie closed out the half with back-to-back three-pointers to whittle the Spartans lead to 30-29 heading into intermission.
“Leia had an outstanding night,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “She took over when we needed her the most and she knocked-down some big shots and got us to within one at halftime.”
Freshman Marah Dykstra converted a pair of free throws to give MSU a 36-34 lead at the 6:24 mark of the third quarter, but SJSU rattled off an 8-2 run to take a 42-37 advantage with 3:08 left in the frame. Once again, the Bobcats responded, closing out the stanza on a 10-3 run with Beasley’s two free throws giving MSU a 47-45 lead heading into the final quarter.
“I really liked our resilience,” Binford said. “We were attack-minded and got to the rim. It was an ugly game, but we played with a lot of grit and found a way to win.”
Both teams traded points to open the final quarter and Beasley’s layup with 4:26 left gave the Bobcats a 58-53 margin. The Spartans closed out the game on an 8-3 run and neither team could convert in the final minute forcing an extra period.
San Jose State held an early 65-63 lead at the 4:16 mark of overtime, but it would be the last time the Spartans would see the scoreboard as MSU closed out the night on an 11-0 run as five different Bobcats scored.
For the game, MSU shot 37.5% from the field, connected on six-of-23 from long distance, and converted 20-of-25 from the line. The Bobcats forced San Jose State into 23 turnovers. The Spartans shot 35.3% from the field and were 10-of-14 at the line.
MSU held a slim 44-43 advantage under the boards as Darian White and Dykstra paced the Bobcats with ten and seven rebounds, respectively.
