by By Tom Schulz
Despite shooting a season-high 47.5% from the field and getting a career performance from junior Kola Bad Bear, the Montana State women’s basketball team couldn’t hold off a late charging North Texas squad as the Mean Green rallied for an 87-78 win on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Cal Poly Holiday Beach Classic at the Mott Athletics Center.
Bad Bear, a 6-2 forward from Billings, got Montana State (1-5) off to a quick start as her three-pointer at the 6:02 mark gave MSU a 17-4 lead. Behind her nine points, the Bobcats shot 62.5% from the floor in the opening 10-minutes and held a 27-15 advantage.
MSU took its largest lead, 37-20, at the 7:23 mark of the second stanza on a Darian White triple. North Texas (3-2) chipped away at the deficit, but a White three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Bobcats a 46-36 cushion heading into intermission.
Bad Bear finished the first half shooting six-of-six from the field and two-of-two from beyond the arc for 14 points, but with 55-seconds left picked up her third foul which would prove costly in the second half.
MSU shot 56.7% from the field in the first 20-minutes, including a 66.7% (10-15) from three-point range.
“We took really good steps today,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “That first quarter is what we need to emulate over the course of an entire game. We were attack minded on defense, and really did a nice job keeping them out of the paint. Offensively, we were taking good shots and knocking them down.”
North Texas took its first lead of the contest, 64-61, with 15-seconds remaining in the third quarter on a triple by Emma Villas-Gomis. The Mean Green outscored the Bobcats 28-15 in the frame.
The teams exchanged leads to start the fourth quarter. A Lexi Deden field-goal at the 5:28 mark evened the game at 74-all, but a 7-0 run gave North Texas an 81-74 advantage in the waning moments. MSU’s Leia Beatie converted one of two free throws to cut the margin to 81-78 with 1:24 left, but UNT hit six-of-six from the line in the final 38-seconds to secure the victory.
“North Texas used their athleticism and were very physical in the second half,” Binford said. “Things started to pile up, we got into foul trouble, and they took over the paint. We need to clean up the boards and the foul line.
“We’re taking strides in the right direction,” Binford added. “We look forward to another opportunity against Cal Poly.”
North Texas held a commanding 45-24 advantage under the glass and outscored the Bobcats 44-18 in the paint. The Mean Green also held a 19-4 margin in second chance points.
Bad Bear finished with a career-best 18 points, connecting on eight-of-10 from the field, including two 3-pointers. White ended with 16 points, ten assists, seven rebounds and three steals. Also in double digits were Beattie 15 and Katelynn Limardo 12.
