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San Francisco head coach Molly Goodenbour had already called two timeouts in the third quarter, but the game was slipping away quickly. After seeing Montana State\u2019s Issy Bunyan drill back-to-back 3-pointers and her own player Amy Pateman travel with the ball, Goodenbour called her final timeout.<\/p>\n
The Dons, with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter, had lost the ability to stop the game and regroup on its own terms, the result of the Bobcats swiftly monopolizing the momentum in the WNIT\u2019s second round Sunday afternoon at Worthington Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis team is so competitive and they hate to lose,\u201d MSU head coach Tricia Binford said. \u201cSo regardless of what the moment is, they’re going to come out and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montana State\u2019s middle quarters were its best. The second quarter helped brush aside a sluggish first quarter. And the blitz that followed in the third quarter provided some cushion for USF\u2019s comeback attempt in the fourth.<\/p>\n
Bunyan\u2019s consecutive 3-pointers brought MSU\u2019s lead to its apex, at 27 points, in the third, before the Bobcats settled for a 69-53 victory, the program\u2019s first postseason win of any kind.<\/p>\n
Montana State\u2019s coaches and players recognized earlier this month that they had missed their opportunity to reach a second consecutive NCAA Tournament by losing to Idaho in the Big Sky Conference Championship game, but they also felt spurned by the NCAA-operated WBIT as a consolation prize. They carried that slight into the WNIT and delivered another suffocating defensive performance in a season full of them to accomplish one of the program\u2019s goals of advancing in a postseason tournament regardless of its branding. And they did so in front of 2,238 fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was as fulfilling as I could ever expect, as far as our crowd behind them, the moment, embracing it, getting a win on our home floor in a postseason event,\u201d Binford said. \u201cAnd being able to share that with your community, that’s pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bobcats pushed their record to 26-7, the second-most wins in program history behind only last year\u2019s 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of great things that these young kids are accomplishing right now,\u201d Binford added.<\/p>\n
The Bobcats had to first overcome a poor-shooting first quarter (4 of 20 from the field). The Dons had opened an 11-4 lead before Brianne Bailey\u2019s layup was followed by Taylee Chirrick\u2019s 3-pointer at the buzzer to go into the second quarter trailing just 11-9. MSU restored some order by winning the second quarter 22-13 to lead 31-24 at the break.<\/p>\n
But the third quarter was the Bobcats\u2019 finest work. They scored the first 16 points of the frame, and clamped down on defense even more \u2014 forcing six turnovers before three minutes had elapsed.<\/p>\n
USF\u2019s Meghan McIntyre scored her team\u2019s first points of the second half almost exactly midway through the third quarter, but Bunyan followed with 3s on two straight possessions to fully deflate the Dons (19-15) and force Goodenbour to call her last timeout to try to stem her team\u2019s bleeding.<\/p>\n