Montana State University’s women’s basketball team secured a 78-57 victory over the University of Montana in the second round of the 2026 Big Sky Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday in Boise, Idaho. The win marks the Bobcats’ fourth-largest margin of victory in a postseason game and extends their conference tournament win streak to four games, setting a new program record. The team has now defeated their rivals, the Lady Griz, six times consecutively, which is the second-longest winning streak for Montana State in this series.
Head coach Tricia Binford highlighted the impact of her reserve players after the game. “We’ve talked a about our bench being as important as our starters,” said Binford. “The way we play, we need everybody. Teagan (Erickson) had an incredible game, Brooke (Fatupaito) had an incredible game, our entire bench came up big.”
Teagan Erickson contributed 12 points—her highest since January—while Brooke Fatupaito added nine points in her return from injury, all scored in the first quarter. The Bobcat bench collectively provided 42 of the team’s total points.
Montana State established control early by outscoring Montana 23-7 in the first quarter. This pattern mirrors previous matchups between the teams earlier this season when MSU also built double-digit leads after one period.
“We just tried to focus on that (first) quarter,” Binford said regarding her team’s approach against UM. “We try to take each quarter one at a time as far as keeping teams in check.”
The Bobcats’ defense forced ten turnovers from Montana in the opening quarter alone while limiting them to three made field goals out of ten attempts. By halftime, MSU led by double digits and maintained that advantage throughout the remainder of the contest.
Addison Harris opened scoring with a three-pointer just seconds into play and finished with 13 points alongside Katelynn Chirrick, who matched Harris for team-high honors and recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Chirrick also tallied six assists and five steals.
Fatupaito reflected on her return from injury: “I think the whole time Coach (Binford) always has had confidence in me, and was being like, ‘When you come back we’re going to need you, we’re going to need you to step into that role. And so that was really encouraging.'”
Despite making eight three-pointers during the game, Montana never closed within single digits after MSU’s initial run. The Lady Griz were without leading scorer Mack Konig due to injury.
With this win, Montana State improves its season record to 24-6—the fourth-highest win total in program history—while Montana concludes its season at 9-22. The Bobcats will next face either Eastern Washington or Northern Colorado on Tuesday afternoon at Idaho Central Arena.
