Epic Showdown: Big Sky’s Undefeated Warriors Face Off This Saturday!

NEXT UP: The initial major confrontation of the Big Sky season occurs on Saturday, Jan. 11, when Montana State faces Northern Arizona at 2 p.m. in Flagstaff. Both teams sport a 3-0 record in league competition, holding NET rankings of 71 and 90, respectively. In this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Coaches’ poll, they are placed No. 14 and No. 19. The match highlights the Big Sky’s leading offense (NAU – 80.4 ppg) against the premier defense in the league (MSU – 55.0 ppg).
 
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Montana State boasts a 13-2 overall record and stands 3-0 in Big Sky contests, following their triumph over Northern Colorado 68-57 on Thursday evening in Greeley. Esmeralda Morales and Marah Dykstra led the Bobcats with 15 points each, while Lexi Deden contributed 13 points. MSU achieved a BSC season-high of 50% shooting from the field against the Bears. Furthermore, MSU restricted UNC to under 60 points—marking the tenth instance this season that the Bobcats have reached this defensive benchmark. In MSU’s last six contests, their adversaries have not surpassed 60 points.
 
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona holds a 12-4 overall record and is 3-0 in league play after their 65-46 victory over Montana on Thursday. Northern Arizona limited the Lady Griz to the lowest scoring amount this season, keeping UM to 28.8% shooting from the field. Three players for NAU scored in double digits, spearheaded by Taylor Feldman with 24 points. Feldman achieved a shooting performance of 7-of-14 from the field, 3-of-8 beyond the arc, and was perfect at the free throw line at 7-for-7, additionally leading the team with three assists. Sophie Glancey added 15 points while Nyah Moran contributed 10. Saniyah Neverson topped all players with 12 rebounds and, along with Moran, led the group with three steals. Glancey also recorded two blocks and grabbed six rebounds.
 
SO MUCH WINNING: Over the past five seasons, no team in the Big Sky Conference has secured more league victories than the Bobcats. Since the 2019-20 season, Montana State has amassed 72 Big Sky wins, followed by Northern Arizona (63), Idaho (59), Idaho State (57), and Montana (57) in the top five.
 
300 CLUB: With the 75-60 victory over Weber State on Feb. 9, 2023, MSU head coach Tricia Binford achieved her 309th career win, surpassing former Weber State coach Carla Taylor (308 – 23 years). With MSU’s 92-84 triumph at Eastern Washington on Dec. 31, 2022, Binford became only the third coach in Big Sky history to amass 300 wins—all achieved within the league. Binford ranks second only to Montana’s Robin Selvig (865, 38 years) in overall wins. In Big Sky competition, she stands second to Selvig (358) with 210 victories. Binford is the all-time winningest coach at MSU – including both men’s and women’s teams. This season marks her 20th with the Bobcat program, and her overall record is currently 342-251, including 210-127 in Big Sky Conference contests.
 
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25: For three weeks in a row, Montana State has been listed in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major top 25 coaches’ poll. This week, the Bobcats improved one rank to No. 14 with 350 points. Their Saturday rival, Northern Arizona, stands at No. 19 with 214 points. Harvard maintained the No. 1 position, earning 28 first-place votes and totaling 770 points. Montana State made its entrance in the 2024-25 CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll on Dec. 18, following a victory against No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 58-49 in Fort Myers, Fla. Oral Roberts, who bested the Bobcats 82-80 in overtime during the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Dec. 7 in Tulsa, is currently positioned at No. 20.