Brawl in the Brick

The first pair of Brawl of the Wild basketball games took place on Feb. 2, where MSU’s cross-state rival, the UM Grizzlies, traveled to Bozeman to duke it out with the Bobcats. The women’s game tipped off at 2 p.m. and the men followed at 7 p.m. The women came into the game tied with UM in the standings, each sporting a 5-4 record in the Big Sky Conference. The men’s team also held a 5-4 record, sitting at fourth in Big Sky play.

Women’s

The Grizzlies showed up to the first game of the weekend fresh off of a win over Weber State, while the Cats had lost two of their last three. With each team looking for a win to jump-start their momentum heading into the final stretch of the season, the intensity was palpable inside Worthington Arena.

From the tip and throughout the first quarter, the Cats struggled to find their rhythm while the Griz hit the ground running. At the completion of the first quarter, the Cats found themselves on the wrong side of a 20-13 score, desperately needing to find their offensive groove in the second quarter. The Cats picked it up, racing in front of the Griz by means of an impressive 21-7 quarter to finish the first half. Offense and defense were both evident in the second quarter, with the Griz only mustering seven points on 19 shot attempts. The Cats took a seven point lead into half with the score 34-27.

The second half showed the same momentum for MSU as they ran away from the Griz, eventually leading by up to 29 points. Junior guard Oliana Squires built off of her hot start and finished as the leading scorer for all players with 20 points and led the team with eight assists. Junior forwards Blaire Braxton and Madelyn Smith put together efficient lines from the field, gathering 13 and 11 points, respectively, on a combined 11-14 shooting.

A packed crowd inside the Brick helped develop an atmosphere that played well into the rout of the Griz. A stifling Bobcats’ defense held the Griz to a measly 30 percent from the floor and only 28 percent from the three-point line.

Men’s Recap

The men’s game opened up similarly to the women’s contest with the Cats struggling to click on offense, whereas the Griz found their way right out of the gates. Senior guard Tyler Hall kept the Cats in it early as he picked up the first points of the game for the Cats with his signature stepback jumper.

The first half wrapped up with an exhilarating buzzer-beating three pointer. With time left in the half for one possession left on the clock, the Griz came down the floor to try to further their one-point lead. Junior guard Harald Frey had different plans. At under eight seconds to go, Frey stole the ball and made his way up court and found junior guard Ladan Ricketts who pump-faked a defender and let loose a three -point jumper that found the bottom of the net as the first half buzzer sounded. Worthington Arena exploded in excitement following the three which put the Cats in front 48-46 at the half.

The second half featured a back-and-forth battle that came down to the wire. After a dunk by junior forward Devin Kirby with 2:21 left to play in the half, the Griz called a timeout up by two. Following the timeout, UM scored and didn’t look back. In the end, the Griz snuck away with a 83-78 win over the Cats. The difference was the free-throw line - the Griz managed to sink 25 of 32, while the Cats went 12 for 18. Hall led all scorers with 26 points, including 21 first-half points to keep MSU in the game.