Sports

Bobcat women lose third straight

Posted: Feb 2, 2013 9:29 PM by MTN Sports

BOZEMAN - Portland State used an 8-2 run over the final two-minutes, 10-seconds to notch a 75-72 come-from-behind win over Montana State, Saturday afternoon in front of 1,704 fans in Worthington Arena.

Montana State (14-7, 8-4) took a 70-67 lead following an Emily Allen baseline jumper with 2:10 remaining. However, following a MSU timeout, Portland State (10-11, 4-8) responded with six straight points, capped by a pair of free throw tosses via Courtney VanBrocklin.

Jackie Elliott, who notched eight second-half points, connected on a straight-away 15-foot jumper to pull the Bobcats to within 73-72 with 12-seconds left. Following two more VanBrocklin charity tosses with 11-seconds left, the Bobcats were unable to get a good look at a potential game-tying three-point shot as time expired.

The loss was Montana State's third in a row, coming off an eight-game Big Sky Conference winning streak.

"We need to get some confidence back," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "We've had some inconsistencies and we need to find our swagger. Our team basketball is out of rhythm right now. We are out of sync."

The Vikings held a 31-28 advantage at intermission and built its largest lead of eight points at the 17:28 mark of the second stanza. The Bobcats rattled off a 24-11 run over the next seven minutes to take a 54-49 lead. The run was sparked by nine points from Rachel Semansky.

MSU held the advantage down the stretch until PSU evened the game at 65-all on a Karley Lampman triple with 4:06 remaining. Two Kalli Durham free throws with 2:46 left gave MSU a one-point advantage, before Allen's jumper put the Bobcats ahead by three.

Durham paced Montana State in the loss with 21 points, followed by Lindsay Stockton 13, Semansky 12, and Elliott 12.

The silver-lining for the Bobcats came from the bench as the combination of Stockton, Elliott, Lexi Dawkins and Jasmine Hommes poured in 37 points, shooting 58 percent from the field.

For the game, PSU shot 54 percent from the floor, including 62 percent in the second half. The Bocbats hit 41 percent from the field. Montana State held a 36-26 advantage under the boards as Stockton paced MSU with a team-high six rebounds. The Gonzaga Prep grad also dished out four assists and had a steal in 25 minutes of action.

PSU was led in the win by VanBrocklin with 16 points, including a nine-of-ten effort from the line.

MSU will play at North Dakota on Thursday night in Grand Forks.