CHENEY, Wash. — The Montana State women's basketball team nearly lost a large lead, but a record-setting performance from freshman Taylee Chirrick helped the Bobcats hold off Eastern Washington for a 58-56 win Monday night at Reese Court.
Chirrick, who played the last two seasons at Roberts High School, finished with 12 points and a school-record 11 steals to fuel Montana State (17-2, 7-0 Big Sky) to its 10th straight win.
“Taylee was a monster,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “She had an incredible game, and we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.”
Eastern Washington (6-12, 2-4) held an 18-11 lead after the opening period and was up 27-26 at halftime.
Trailing 29-28 just 30 seconds into the third quarter, the Bobcats went on a 15-0 run over the course of six minutes, sparked by Chirrick’s six points and three steals.
MSU built its largest lead of the game, 49-34, with 42 seconds left in the third quarter on a pull-up jumper by Esmeralda Morales. The Bobcats outscored the Eagles 23-9 in the quarter.
Trailing 52-41 with a little over six minutes left, EWU went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, with Alex Pettis nailing a corner 3-pointer to even the contest at 52-52. Dykstra hit two free throws and Morales made a jumper to give the Bobcats a 56-52 lead with 1:33 left.
A Kourtney Grossman layup cut the margin to two, before a Chirrick free throw gave MSU a 57-54 lead with 52 seconds remaining. A lay-in from EWU’s Jacey Eggers with eight seconds left pulled the Eagles to within one point. Eastern quickly fouled Morales on the inbounds play, and the senior hit the back end of two charity tosses.
EWU’s Peyton Howard missed a lay-in attempt as time expired, giving MSU its eighth consecutive win at Reese Court.
“We got it done,” Binford said. “Eastern Washington played great. We weren’t at our best. I thought we were a bit rattled and rushed things. Offensively, we were out of rhythm.
"We have a lot to learn from this game, but it was also a game that tested us, and that was something we needed.”
Grossman, a Billings West graduate, led all players with 18 points and 19 rebounds.
Morales paced the Bobcats with 15 points, including a 7-of-9 effort from the line. Katelynn Martin scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. Dykstra finished with nine points and a team-best seven boards.
The Eagles outrebounded the Cats 54-32 and outscored them 14-4 in second chance points. Both teams shot less than 30% from the field, while MSU was 2 of 19 from 3-point range and 24 of 31 from the foul line. EWU shot 6 of 23 and 12 of 20, respectively.
MSU will face rival Montana on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Missoula.
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