Montana State women's hoops

[Colter_Nuanez]

A WORK IN PROGRESS: Bobcats still have work to do with season opener a week away
MSU women down Minot State, 63-47

By COLTER NUANEZ


Now it’s for real and if you ask Tricia Binford, her team isn’t close to being ready to face reality.

The Montana State women’s basketball team wrapped up the exhibition portion of its preseason schedule with a 63-47 win over Division II Minot State in Bozeman on Sunday afternoon.

On the surface, the effort looked like a solid one from the hosts. The Bobcats put three players — sophomore forward Jackie Elliott, senior guard Latisha Adams and sophomore shooting guard Kalli Durham — in double figures scoring. Despite the win, Binford, Montana State’s eighth-year head coach, said her team has a great deal of work to do before Sunday’s season-opener at Colorado State.

“We are definitely not close at all, we are not close to being ready,” Binford said. “I thought we might be close after last week. There was some bright spots last week (MSU beat Montana Tech 83-50). We put a good amount of time in last week trying to shore up our transition defense. This was a good game for us because Minot was very physical and very difficult motion to guard. They are a good team, but for us to have taken steps backward, it’s concerning.”

“I told the team after the game this felt like a loss. This was a game where we took some steps backward and I was really disappointed in that regard.”

The victory was not devoid of bright spots. Elliott and Adams shared team-high honors with 14 points apiece. Elliott made more of her money at the free throw line, knocking down 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Adams penetrated effectively and showed off a more refined midrange game in hitting 6-of-12 shots. She also grabbed seven rebounds and nabbed five steals.

“I thought Tish responded really well,” Binford said. “She was our second-leading field goal attempter, but her shots were at the basket and were high-percentage shots. I was really pleased with her performance, especially in the second half.”

The Beavers hung tough with the Bobcats for much of the first half. With 13:03 to play before halftime, the score was knotted at 11-11. Durham and freshman point guard Lindsay Stockton hit 3-pointers to help MSU push the lead to 28-15 with less than six minutes to play in the half. But Minot closed to gap to 34-26 as the competitors entered the locker room.

Following halftime, Montana State played its best stretch of basketball during the victory. After hitting just four of their 14 3-point attempts before halftime, the Bobcats rededicated themselves to penetrating the lane and getting the ball inside.

MSU began the second half on a 14-5 run by hitting seven of its first 11 shots. Senior post Rachel Semansky, Elliott, Adams and junior forward Ashley Brumwell all scored buckets in the lane as MSU pushed its lead to 46-30.

“The first five minutes of that second half was our bright spot in this game,” Elliott said. “It took us away from the other team. Coach Bin just stressed that we have to get the ball inside. We wanted to take 60 percent of our shots inside the key today and we didn’t do that. It showed in the first half. We really have to do a better job of getting our posts involved. It really makes the flow of our so much better.”

Montana State shot just seven second-half 3-pointers. Durham was 3-for-9 from deep in scoring 11 points. She was 4-of-15 from the floor overall.

“Halftime, I reminded them about our shot selection. We went into this game with one of our keys being 60 percent of our shots at the basket, but we opened up the game without any patience,” Binford said. “I thought the shot selection improved in the second half.”

Montana State has given up just four true fast-break points during its two-game exhibition season. But transition defense is the thing Binford said her team is struggling with most.

“We spent the entire week, the majority of our practices had been about transition defense and communication and we didn’t see anything applied in the game,” Binford said. “That was extremely disappointing.”

Binford said the trust factor is lacking. She said the team needs to know “what the best shot for the team is, not the best shot for individuals”. MSU’s head coach said each Bobcat needs to trust one another more, something that was put on display by MSU’s inability to pass out of double teams in the post. Brumwell and Semansky combined for 14 points and one assists as MSU’s starting frontcourt.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of gelling as a team. I think it’s a matter of being assertive and stepping up and not being afraid of how it comes across,” Binford said. “We’ve been drilling it, trying to teach it, but we just have to execute it.”

“We have a whole new team this year and chemistry is just going to start flowing, it really is,” Elliott said. “Our communication is not where it needs to be. We have two tough games next weekend against two great programs. We really want to make a name for ourselves in the Big Sky this year so we have to come out strong in our first two games.”

Montana State has a week’s worth of practice before its season begins for real.

“We are definitely going to have to work a little more this week, but these two exhibition games definitely gave us a start on knowing each other and just playing,” Elliott said. “Knowing each other, chemistry flowing, all that, we have been working hard. Now we just need to execute.”

Colter Nuanez can be reached at BobcatBeat56@gmail.com.