Montana State University’s women’s basketball team defeated San Francisco 69-53 in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Second Round at Worthington Arena on March 22, advancing to the Super 16 round where they will host Portland.
The victory marks a significant milestone for Montana State, as it is the team’s first-ever postseason win and brings their season record to 26-7, the second-most wins in program history. The Bobcats will face Portland at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Sophomore Addison Harris, who contributed 14 points and four assists, said, “We’ve never won in the postseason. So it’s really cool. To get the chance to be a part of this, to host the second round of this tournament, it’s amazing. And we had a huge crowd, so shout out to Bozeman for supporting this basketball team.”
The game saw an enthusiastic crowd of 2,238 fans. Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter before Montana State took control with a strong run leading into halftime and continued dominance in the third quarter. Taylee Chirrick led with 15 points, nine rebounds and six steals while Issy Bunyan added twelve points from four three-pointers.
Chirrick said about the home court atmosphere: “I’m sure being on the other team and having the crowd cheering so hard for (MSU) brings you down a little bit. And I think it’s exciting to have our crowd just be loud for us.” Harris also credited fan support: “I usually say that we’ve got the best home court advantage in the Big Sky because it gets deafening when we’re on defense… It definitely feels like the crowd rattles (the opponent) and that fueled that third quarter drive.”
The Bobcats’ defensive effort held San Francisco to just 31 percent shooting and forced 28 turnovers. The upcoming rematch against Portland follows an earlier season meeting where Montana State won 86-72.
Tickets are available for Thursday’s Super 16 contest at Worthington Arena.
